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Australia tops abuse of ecstasy: UN report
Thursday, 25 September 2003
SYDNEY: Australia has the highest levels of ecstasy abuse in the world, says a new United Nations drug report.
The first UN global survey on ecstasy and amphetamines, issued in Rome yesterday, also said Australia ranked second only to Thailand in terms of methamphetamine abuse.
The problem of amphetamine-type stimulants in Australia was characterised by high levels of abuse and was "serious and growing", the report warned.
"Australia has the highest levels of ecstasy abuse world-wide and ranks second for methamphetamine use," it said.
According to the report by the Vienna-based UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the local production of methamphetamine tablets in Australia was increasing.
It said the drugs were manufactured locally using pseudoephedrine as a chemical precursor - either bought or stolen from retail outlets or taken from chemical factories, warehouses and factory yards.
"The relatively closed market appears to have disguised the specific nature and extent of the problem for some time," the report said.
But domestic manufacture of ecstasy was limited. The drugs were mainly imported from Europe, South-East Asia and China.
Imported tablets were often ground up, diluted and resold and were of dubious and inconsistent quality. Fake ecstasy was also being produced locally using ingredients like ketamine, paracetamol and caffeine.
I worry for our children..................it's very scarey.
Bliss