Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA): 2002 Annual Report on Drug Use Among Police Detainees

Abstract

2002 was the first year of the second phase of data collection in the Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA) project, which has been running since 1999. There are now seven sites participating in the program which interviews detainees in police custodyabout their drug use. The seven sites are Adelaide City and Elizabeth in South Australia; Bankstown and Parramatta in New South Wales; Brisbane City and Southport in Queensland; and East Perth in Western Australia. Based on self report and urinalysis, d ata are presented for each site on use of amphetamines, benzodiazepines, cannabis, cocaine, opiates, self reported alcohol use, illicit drug use and self reported criminal activity, illicit drug use and most serious charge, and drug and alcohol treatmenthistory, while juvenile data are also presented for Bankstown and Parramatta. During the third quarter of 2002 an addendum on the prevalence of drug dealing by detainees was conducted, and the findings from this, including the accuracy of a proposed model of the drug market, are presented. Trends in recent drug use, 1999-2002, are also discussed. The addition of the new monitoring sites has shown that drug use patterns at the Sydney sites are different from those at the other participating jurisdictions and highlights the need for collections to be dispersed across jurisdictions.