1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,400 Speaker 1: Turns out we love meth. These new figures show a 2 00:00:02,400 --> 00:00:06,319 Speaker 1: monthly peak of thirty nine point two kilos recorded in October, 3 00:00:06,559 --> 00:00:09,479 Speaker 1: which apparently as well above historic averages. Massive University drug 4 00:00:09,520 --> 00:00:11,640 Speaker 1: Research Chris Wilkins is, well, this Chris, very good morning 5 00:00:11,680 --> 00:00:11,960 Speaker 1: to you. 6 00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:13,320 Speaker 2: Good morning. 7 00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:16,680 Speaker 1: What does thirty nine kilos mean that? I mean, who's 8 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:17,400 Speaker 1: is that? 9 00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:17,560 Speaker 2: Like? 10 00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:21,160 Speaker 1: Thousands? Tens of thousands of people or hundreds of thousands 11 00:00:21,160 --> 00:00:22,000 Speaker 1: of people? What's a mean? 12 00:00:23,079 --> 00:00:26,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's tens of thousands of people. So a usable 13 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:29,600 Speaker 2: dose is usually zero point one grand, so thirty nine 14 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:32,839 Speaker 2: kilos is a lot, but I think if we just 15 00:00:33,080 --> 00:00:35,760 Speaker 2: zoom out of it. So the figures for the last 16 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:38,519 Speaker 2: quarter was one hundred and eight percent higher than the 17 00:00:38,560 --> 00:00:42,520 Speaker 2: previous four quarters, and the one before that was thirty 18 00:00:42,560 --> 00:00:45,120 Speaker 2: one percent more than the last four quarters. So we're 19 00:00:45,120 --> 00:00:50,520 Speaker 2: on a trajectory of massively increasing consumption and that's combined 20 00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:55,040 Speaker 2: with declining prices significantly, So thirty six percent decline in 21 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:57,600 Speaker 2: the price of a gram of myth over the last 22 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:01,400 Speaker 2: five years. So we're really up against some really horrible 23 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:02,040 Speaker 2: numbers here. 24 00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:04,640 Speaker 1: Do we know how this works? Are we on myth 25 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:07,520 Speaker 1: because we've dropped something else or we're on the something else, 26 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:09,559 Speaker 1: plus we're topping it up with a bit of myth. 27 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:13,800 Speaker 2: I would say this is a supply side effect. So 28 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:18,640 Speaker 2: essentially there's been a massive increase in industrial sized production 29 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:22,039 Speaker 2: of methm FED I mean traditionally from Southeast Asia, but 30 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:24,920 Speaker 2: now increasingly from other parts of the world like South 31 00:01:24,959 --> 00:01:30,000 Speaker 2: America and Mexico. And essentially what we're getting is so 32 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:33,240 Speaker 2: you know, the seizures have increased ten times in the 33 00:01:33,319 --> 00:01:37,080 Speaker 2: last three or five years. So this is really supply, 34 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:40,959 Speaker 2: very cheap myth that can be easily manufactured at low price, 35 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:43,479 Speaker 2: and we're just getting swamped and myth. 36 00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:46,880 Speaker 1: Essentially, I assume given you do wastewater testing, you can 37 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:49,600 Speaker 1: pinpoint the geography. Is that fair or is it everywhere 38 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:50,520 Speaker 1: up and down the country? 39 00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:56,240 Speaker 2: I gather it's everywhere up the country. I mean there 40 00:01:56,280 --> 00:01:59,800 Speaker 2: is regions where myth is particularly high, and one of 41 00:01:59,800 --> 00:02:02,000 Speaker 2: these I think one of the really interesting things that 42 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:04,800 Speaker 2: came out of the wastewater testing is that we could 43 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:07,520 Speaker 2: see that the places we wouldn't expect a lot of myths, 44 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:11,440 Speaker 2: like rural areas and small towns, are actually some often 45 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:15,000 Speaker 2: some of the highest per capita in myth. And that's 46 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:18,480 Speaker 2: really a wake up call in terms of, you know, 47 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:23,040 Speaker 2: targeting local supply where you've got a blatant level of 48 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:26,480 Speaker 2: supply semi public and everyone knows what's going on, but 49 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:27,520 Speaker 2: there's just been no action. 50 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:29,520 Speaker 1: I find this really depressing, do you. 51 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:32,959 Speaker 2: Yeah. I think this is a real wake up call 52 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:36,359 Speaker 2: because and it's partly a technological driven thing that we've 53 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:39,360 Speaker 2: now got synthetic drugs like meth that can be produced 54 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:42,919 Speaker 2: on large scale at very low price. But also there's 55 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:45,760 Speaker 2: other changes in the market, like a digital market. You know, 56 00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:50,840 Speaker 2: encrypted messaging apps, dark nets and social media have been 57 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:53,880 Speaker 2: used now in a drug market that's very different from 58 00:02:53,919 --> 00:02:56,720 Speaker 2: what we might remember. What I remember is, you know, 59 00:02:56,760 --> 00:02:59,120 Speaker 2: as the teenager, so you know these are all things 60 00:02:59,120 --> 00:02:59,839 Speaker 2: to keep it where. 61 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:03,639 Speaker 1: She's all right, Chris, appreciate it. I don't remember the 62 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:04,839 Speaker 1: drug market. Cool. 63 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:07,800 Speaker 2: No, whether you know what they say, if you can 64 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:09,079 Speaker 2: remember it, you weren't part of it. 65 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:12,680 Speaker 1: For more from the mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to 66 00:03:12,800 --> 00:03:15,880 Speaker 1: news talks. 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