1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:02,120 Speaker 1: Super depressing news around drugs. I'm here to tell you 2 00:00:02,160 --> 00:00:06,040 Speaker 1: new police annual wastewater drug testing ninety six percent spike 3 00:00:06,080 --> 00:00:08,639 Speaker 1: in meth seven hundred and thirty two kilos of the stuff. 4 00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:12,399 Speaker 1: It's gone to one point four tons last year. Massive 5 00:00:12,680 --> 00:00:15,240 Speaker 1: drug researcher Chris Wilkins is with us. Chris, very good 6 00:00:15,240 --> 00:00:15,760 Speaker 1: morning to you. 7 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:17,680 Speaker 2: Yep, good morning mate. 8 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:20,919 Speaker 1: Different people or the same people doing a lot more drugs? 9 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:25,080 Speaker 2: Well, that's one of the big questions. I think it's 10 00:00:25,079 --> 00:00:27,720 Speaker 2: a little bit of both. But certainly the price has 11 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:32,000 Speaker 2: gone down and the availability is higher. Sode expect your 12 00:00:32,440 --> 00:00:35,240 Speaker 2: regular users are using more, unfortunately. 13 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:36,640 Speaker 1: And do we know if it's I've given up the 14 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:39,280 Speaker 1: coke for the meth or the weed for the meth, 15 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:40,560 Speaker 1: or we don't know that either. 16 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:45,239 Speaker 2: This is predominantly meth. So cocaine went down a little bit. 17 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:49,120 Speaker 2: And this just represents the changes in the drug market 18 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:52,280 Speaker 2: that we're seeing when we were moving from a local 19 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:56,800 Speaker 2: brick and mortar store to a global online platform, and 20 00:00:56,840 --> 00:00:59,240 Speaker 2: the kind of changes people have seen in the retail 21 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:01,840 Speaker 2: world and the legal economy that's coming to the drug 22 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:03,000 Speaker 2: market at the. 23 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:06,280 Speaker 1: Moment unreal and obviously this is wastewater so we don't 24 00:01:06,319 --> 00:01:08,039 Speaker 1: know the minutia. But is it gangs? Do we know 25 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:09,559 Speaker 1: if it's gangs? Mainly gangs. 26 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:13,399 Speaker 2: Gangs are playing their part, But as I said, really 27 00:01:13,560 --> 00:01:18,639 Speaker 2: we're drug trafficking is now leveraging off the digital world. 28 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:20,960 Speaker 2: So there's been changes and all the different levels of 29 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:24,639 Speaker 2: the market from production all the way to retail where 30 00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:28,800 Speaker 2: they're leveraging of social media platforms. So it's a real 31 00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:33,000 Speaker 2: changing environment now and I think we've got to accept 32 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:37,400 Speaker 2: that and start to reconceptualize what a drug market's about. 33 00:01:37,880 --> 00:01:39,600 Speaker 1: Are the police behind the eight ball on this? Are 34 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:41,000 Speaker 1: they on top of this in an ee way, shape 35 00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:41,520 Speaker 1: or form or not. 36 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:46,640 Speaker 2: Well, their job is to respond to the effects, so 37 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:50,560 Speaker 2: things like greater wastewater, declining prices. But I think there's 38 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:54,680 Speaker 2: a real challenge about distinguishing between effects and root causes 39 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:57,920 Speaker 2: what's driving these changes, and that takes a bit more 40 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:01,080 Speaker 2: of analysis about knowing how that market's changed, as I said, 41 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:05,160 Speaker 2: changing from that bricks and water to this digital platform 42 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:09,640 Speaker 2: and large scale industrial production, and that takes a bit 43 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:10,440 Speaker 2: of analysis. 44 00:02:10,639 --> 00:02:13,040 Speaker 1: Are we a drug eduld country? I mean, do we 45 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:15,680 Speaker 1: compare ourselves to other countries in terms of tonnage in 46 00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:16,120 Speaker 1: the water. 47 00:02:17,639 --> 00:02:20,440 Speaker 2: Well, it depends on what chrug we're talking about. So 48 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:22,839 Speaker 2: if we're talking about metham fedom are very much high 49 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:26,400 Speaker 2: up there. But of course we have really low reels 50 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:29,560 Speaker 2: of heroin use, which is a really great thing, and 51 00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:33,240 Speaker 2: cocaine is very low. So it's a little bit of both. 52 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:36,760 Speaker 2: But I think we're in the eye of the storm 53 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:39,520 Speaker 2: a little bit in the sense of that we're part 54 00:02:39,560 --> 00:02:42,160 Speaker 2: of a region that's now under a lot of competition 55 00:02:42,280 --> 00:02:47,480 Speaker 2: for drug manufacture forth and fedamine macnufacture from Southeast Asia 56 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:49,960 Speaker 2: and Central America. So there's a real price war now 57 00:02:50,040 --> 00:02:51,480 Speaker 2: going on in this area of the world. 58 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:54,079 Speaker 1: Yes, all right, Chris preciate it no Chris Wilkins, who 59 00:02:54,160 --> 00:02:58,280 Speaker 1: is a drug researcher at Massive University, World hope. 60 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:02,080 Speaker 2: For more from them my Casking Breakfast. Listen live to 61 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:05,240 Speaker 2: News Talk Set B from six am weekdays, or follow 62 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:06,880 Speaker 2: the podcast on iHeartRadio.