Australian Bureau of Statistics
Celebrating the International Year of Statistics 2013

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The traffic in, and abuse of, illicit drugs results in significant social and financial costs to both individuals and the community. To minimise the harm associated with illicit drug activity, there is close cooperation between the Australian Government, the state and territory governments, the various police services and other law enforcement agencies. Included in these is the ACS which has, among other things, responsibility for the enforcement of laws controlling the import and export of illicit drugs. These agencies direct particular attention to monitoring the various types and forms of illicit drugs and identifying emerging patterns of use through the analysis of law enforcement data on illicit drug seizures and arrests.

As table 11.13 shows, in 2001-02 by far the largest category of drug arrests involved cannabis offences, with 55,494 arrests, or 75% of the national total. Queensland recorded almost a third of these arrests (17,068). The next largest category of arrests involved amphetamine offences ('speed'), with 8,063 offenders, or 11% of the national total.

11.13 DRUG ARRESTS(a) - 2001-02
Drug type	NSW	Vic.	Qld	SA(b)	WA	Tas.	NT	ACT	Aust.
NUMBER
Cannabis(c)	12,121	6,692	17,068	9,812	7,156	1,540	822	283	55,494
Cocaine	462	87	20	12	25	1	2	3	612
Heroin and other opioids	884	1,808	263	63	165	34	2	20	3,239
Amphetamine-type stimulants	2,043	1,608	2,007	475	1,725	89	56	60	8,063
Hallucinogens	26	32	12	12	7	1	3	-	93
Steroids	39	2	43	-	-	1	1	2	88
Other drugs(d)	1,048	982	3,313	176	451	237	1	10	6,218
Total	16,623	11,211	22,726	10,550	9,529	1,903	887	378	73,807
RATE PER 100,000 ADULT POPULATION
Cannabis(c)	183.4	138.4	465.8	647.3	373.9	326.2	416.0	88.4	284.2
Cocaine	7.0	1.8	0.5	0.8	1.3	0.2	1.0	0.9	3.1
Heroin and other opioids	13.4	37.4	7.2	4.2	8.6	7.2	1.0	6.2	16.6
Amphetamine-type stimulants	30.9	33.2	54.8	31.3	90.1	18.9	28.3	18.7	41.3
Hallucinogens	0.4	0.7	0.3	0.8	0.4	0.2	1.5	-	0.5
Steroids	0.6	-	1.2	-	-	0.2	0.5	0.6	0.5
Other drugs(d)	15.9	20.3	90.4	11.6	23.6	50.2	0.5	3.1	31.8
Total	251.5	231.8	620.2	696.0	497.9	403.1	448.8	118.0	377.9
(a) The arrest data for each state and territory include AFP data. (b) SA data are not comparable to data published in previous years due to differences in extraction and validation methods. (c) The SA, NT and ACT figures include infringement notices. (d) 'Other drugs' includes phencyclidine (PCP or 'angel dust'), diazepam, lignocaine, benzocaine, dothiepin, flunitrazepam, other prescription drugs, and any drug not included in the other categories.
Source: Australian Crime Commission, 'Australian Illicit Drug Report, 2001-02'.

While the number of cannabis arrests and infringement notices declined in the period 1996-97 through to 2000-01, the figures for 2001-02 showed a small increase. The upward trend in arrests associated with amphetamines peaked in 2000-01, before falling marginally in 2001-02. Heroin arrests peaked during 1998-99, before falling from this high point: 3,239 persons were arrested in 2001-02 compared to 7,396 in 2000-01, a 56% decrease (graph 11.14).