Australia warns of meth pandemic as drug busts hit record

Australia is facing a crystal meth pandemic, authorities warnedTuesday as they announced arrests and seizures over illicit drugs reached an all-time high last year.The government-run Australian Crime Commission (ACC) said in a report that thesituation was "gravely serious", with international cartels at the heart of theproblem."National illicit drug seizures and arrests were at record or decade highs for nearlyall drug types in this reporting period," said ACC acting chief executive PaulJevtovic."Illicit drug use in Australia, and the profits gained from it, is directly linked totransnational organised crime groups that are implicated in large-scale criminality and corruption overseas."During the financial year to July 2013, a record 101,749 arrests were made and therewere 86,918 seizures of illicit drugs -- a 66 percent increase over the past decade.Police have previously said Australia's wealth and the strength of the Australiandollar meant traffickers were pouring drugs into the country."Australians, for whatever reason, are prepared to pay a high price for illicit drugs,probably because they can," ACC official Judy Lind told reporters."And in the last four or five year, international drug cartels have cottoned on tothat."While cannabis continues to dominate the Australian market, the prevalence ofcocaine and performance-enhancing drugs was also at record highs.There was also a massive surge in the availability of ice -- or crystalmethylamphetamine -- which is now second only to cannabis in popularity, withseizures up more than 300 percent in a year.Jevtovic said the issue was a "national concern", with the drug linked to violentassaults as users can become highly aggressive, and compared it to the crack crisisthat gripped the US in the 1980s and 1990s."With its relative accessibility, affordability and destructive side-effects, crystalmethylamphetamine is emerging as a pandemic akin to the issue of 'crack' cocainein the United States," he said.Justice Minister Michael Keenan agreed that the ice epidemic was becoming a majorproblem.“Ice is a devastating, insidious drug. It affects everyone from users, their families,and their communities, and the authorities who deal with the users,” he said, addingthat the report provided authorities with a robust picture of the illicit drug market.“The information released today is as encouraging as it is challenging. Lawenforcement is making significant inroads in the fight against illicit drugs. We’redetecting more criminals and disrupting more illicit drugs before they hit thestreets,” said Keenan."But there is much more work to be done and this report also provides criticalevidence so that decision makers and law enforcement officers can develop further strategies to undermine the business models of organised crime and combat thethreat of illicit drugs.