Drug and Alcohol Use
In 2014, methamphetamines and cocaine were listed as
separate drug response categories revealing very different
prevalence rates: of those who indicated that a member of
their household had used substances, almost 35% reported
a household member was using methamphetamines.
Methamphetamines are extremely addictive and are
sometimes called meth, crystal, chalk, and ice, among other
terms.
Of those survey respondents who reported having someone
in their household who had regularly used drugs in the
previous 12 months, the majority indicated this affected
their capacity to meet their basic household needs. Twenty
percent were frequently unable to meet basic needs and
48% were sometimes unable to meet basic needs.
Combined, these two groups of households constituted
6.6% of all households surveyed in 2014. These results are
Alcohol was the cause of 157,132
hospitalisations in 2010
Alcohol was the most commonly
consumed drug in the 2014 ER
survey
Of those who reported that drugs were
regularly used in their household, 68%
said they could not meet basic needs all
or some of the time
19
ABC News (2014), http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-31/15australians-die-each-day-from-alcohol-related-illness-study/5637050
20
VCOSS(2015), State Budget Submission 2015-16,
http://vcoss.org.au/documents/2015/03/VCOSS%20State%20Budget%20Su
bmission%202015-16.pdf
17
Other
Legally prescribed
medication (e.g.…
Cocaine
Inhalants (glue,
petrol etc.)
Heroin
Ecstasy, LSD, other
recreational drugs
The most commonly used drug was alcohol, which is
consistent with other national surveys on drug abuse (e.g.
the National Drug Strategy Household Survey). The 2014
Emergency Relief Survey revealed the prevalence of alcohol
consumption continued to rise, from 47% in 2006, to 55% in
2010 and 65.4% in 2014. Cannabis was the next most
commonly used substance with half of the respondents
indicating a household member had regularly used in the
past year. This is largely consistent with past survey trends.
Metaamphetamines…
Ten percent of survey respondents indicated that, as far as
they knew, someone in their household had regularly used
substances/drugs in the previous 12 months.
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Alcohol
There is strong evidence of an association between social
determinants such as unemployment, homelessness,
poverty and family breakdown, and drug use. In