Drug warnings slip from highs
Cautions for drug offences involving marijuana, hash and heroin have been declining over the past few years, while those for stimulants have increased.
The Federal Statistics Office on Thursday released figures for 2007 that showed police issued almost 47,000 cuations to people for using or dealing in illegal substances. That’s down from a high point of nearly 50,000 in 2004.
Warnings for consumption of marijuana and hemp-based substances decreased from roughly 45,000 in 2004 to about 40,200 in 2007.
But the figures were up for amphetamines, ecstasy, and methamphetamine. The former increased 22 per cent to 883 between 2004 and 2007.
Ecstasy cautions increased 26 per cent to 765 over the same period and there was a fourfold increase in suspected methamphetamine offences to 66.
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