Tassie opioid prescriptions tops in nation

TASMANIA has again achieved the dubious honour as the state with the highest use of the painkiller oxycodone, according to the latest round of national sewage testing.

Commonly known as “hillbilly heroin”, oxycodone is an opioid often prescribed for strong pain relief, but frequently purchased illegally and used illicitly.

But a key figure in Tasmanian drugs advocacy says the data needs to be taken with “a grain of caution”, as the state has the highest levels of oxycodone prescriptions for people with legitimate pain problems, and the wastewater testing simply “mirrors that trend”.

The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission recently released its national wastewater drug monitoring report after 52 sewage sites were tested nationally in April.

The report showed Tasmania’s oxycodone use, particularly in Hobart, was “much higher than anywhere else” per capita, along with the opioid fentanyl, in line with ongoing trends over the past year.

The estimated average oxycodone use for Hobart per capita was double that recorded for Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane and Adelaide, at more than 500mg per 1000 people per day.

Regional Tasmania also exceeded other hotspots for oxycodone use, such as regional Queensland and Victoria. Meanwhile, Hobart recorded the highest use of fentanyl out of the country’s capital cities.

The city also clocked in as the capital with the highest use of cannabis, and recorded above- the- national- average results for alcohol, nicotine and MDMA.

But Alcohol, Tobacco and other Drugs Council of Tasmania CEO Alison Lai said the results didn’t show “who’s using it and why they are using it”.

“Tasmania has the highest rate of opioid prescriptions of any other state or territory across Australia, and the wastewater reports are more than likely mirroring this trend,” she said.