PMID- 26225740
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20160610
LR  - 20221207
IS  - 1879-1026 (Electronic)
IS  - 0048-9697 (Linking)
VI  - 536
DP  - 2015 Dec 1
TI  - Trends in stimulant use in Australia: A comparison of wastewater analysis and 
      population surveys.
PG  - 331-337
LID - S0048-9697(15)30421-6 [pii]
LID - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.07.078 [doi]
AB  - Levels of community drug use are usually described by national surveys; data 
      relied upon by decision makers in health and law enforcement. In recent years the 
      analysis of wastewater for drugs and their metabolites has become prominent. Both 
      methods convey unique drug use information. This paper demonstrates differences 
      arising from the two approaches, using methamphetamine, 
      3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and cocaine data from the state of South 
      Australia. The proportion of people using each drug, obtained from three 
      prominent drug surveys, was compared with estimates of total community drug use 
      derived by wastewater analysis. Temporal trends were compared for available years 
      of the surveys and wastewater analysis from 2010 to 2013. Wastewater results 
      showed methamphetamine to be the most prevalent stimulant in Adelaide, South 
      Australia, with an average of 24.4+/-1.7 doses per day per 1000 inhabitants for 
      2013, while consumption of MDMA and cocaine were much lower at 0.52+/-0.12 and 
      0.42+/-0.06 doses per day per 1000 inhabitants, respectively. Survey data typically 
      had MDMA as the most used stimulant on a proportion of the population basis. The 
      difference in magnitude of drug use between MDMA and methamphetamine was also 
      less apparent. Temporal trends of the proportion of the population using a drug 
      by surveys did not generally reflect total use within the community which was 
      observed by wastewater analysis. Survey data are excellent for describing users 
      demographically. However, discrepancies between the proportion of the population 
      who are users and the magnitude of drug use can lead to misrepresentation of the 
      overall scale of use. The results from this study indicate methamphetamine was 
      used to a much greater extent than suggested by the surveys. Together, wastewater 
      analysis and survey data give a comprehensive view of the drug problem enabling 
      more informed decisions on drug policy.
CI  - Copyright (c) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
FAU - Tscharke, Benjamin J
AU  - Tscharke BJ
AD  - School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of South Australia, GPO Box 
      2471, Adelaide, South Australia 5001, Australia.
FAU - Chen, Chang
AU  - Chen C
AD  - School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of South Australia, GPO Box 
      2471, Adelaide, South Australia 5001, Australia.
FAU - Gerber, Jacobus P
AU  - Gerber JP
AD  - School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of South Australia, GPO Box 
      2471, Adelaide, South Australia 5001, Australia. Electronic address: 
      Cobus.gerber@unisa.edu.au.
FAU - White, Jason M
AU  - White JM
AD  - School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of South Australia, GPO Box 
      2471, Adelaide, South Australia 5001, Australia.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
DEP - 20150728
PL  - Netherlands
TA  - Sci Total Environ
JT  - The Science of the total environment
JID - 0330500
RN  - 0 (Central Nervous System Stimulants)
RN  - 0 (Waste Water)
RN  - 0 (Water Pollutants, Chemical)
SB  - IM
MH  - Central Nervous System Stimulants/*analysis
MH  - South Australia/epidemiology
MH  - Substance Abuse Detection/methods
MH  - Substance-Related Disorders/*epidemiology
MH  - Urban Population
MH  - Wastewater/*chemistry
MH  - Water Pollutants, Chemical/*analysis
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine
OT  - Cocaine
OT  - MDMA
OT  - Methamphetamine
OT  - Surveys
OT  - Wastewater analysis
EDAT- 2015/08/01 06:00
MHDA- 2016/06/11 06:00
CRDT- 2015/07/31 06:00
PHST- 2015/05/18 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2015/07/13 00:00 [revised]
PHST- 2015/07/16 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2015/07/31 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2015/08/01 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2016/06/11 06:00 [medline]
AID - S0048-9697(15)30421-6 [pii]
AID - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.07.078 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Sci Total Environ. 2015 Dec 1;536:331-337. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.07.078. 
      Epub 2015 Jul 28.