Drugs aren’t just an issue in Australian workplaces. They aren’t just an issue on our roadsides. And they’re not just an issue in Australian communities. Drug use is a worldwide problem, as highlighted by the most recent Global Drug Survey.
The Global Drug Survey is held annually and is the world’s largest annual drug survey. In 2016, a touch over 100,000 people participated in the survey, from over 50 countries, including Australia.
Highlights (or should that be lowlights?) of the 2016 Global Drug Survey include:
- Which drug is more likely to lead to emergency medical treatment? Cannabis, cocaine, ICE? Well, actually, globally it’s synthetic cannabinoids. Staggeringly, the risk of seeking emergency medical treatment is 30 times greater for those using synthetic cannabinoids than it is for using cannabis. While synthetic cannabinoids contain different chemicals from that found in cannabis they are designed to provide the same effects.
- Globally, just over 9% of participants admitted to buying their drugs over the Internet, including the dark net.
- There’s been a global increase in both MDMA (e.g. ecstasy) and cocaine use over the past 3 years.
- The rise in popularity of MDMA is worsened by the fact that ecstasy and other MDMA drugs generally contain higher amounts of MDMA than ever before.
- Nitrous oxide, the so-called laughing gas, is now the 7th most used drug in the world.
- Mexico has the highest proportion of alcohol drinkers in the world, closely followed by Ireland. Third place, regrettably, went to Australia.
- One third of people who drink alcohol would like to drink less in the coming year.
- For Australians who participated in the survey, one-quarter admitted they had hurt themselves or others due to their drinking. Meanwhile, over 40% said they wanted to drink less and close to 14% felt they needed help to drink less.
Drug use a concern for your business?
If you want to protect your business from the potential impact of drug use, developing robust drug and alcohol management policies and procedures and conducting regular drug testing is a must. For support, contact Integrity Sampling. We have more than 30 locations Australia-wide.
