Profiles of illicit drug use during annual key holiday and control periods in Australia: wastewater analysis in an urban, a semi‐rural and a vacation area

Abstract

While the peak holiday season in Australia is perceived as a period of increased drug use, this is not uniform across all drugs and areas. Substantial declines in drug use in the semi-rural area contrasted with substantial increases in urban and vacation areas. Per capita drug consumption in the vacation area was equivalent to that in the urban area, implying that these locations merit particular attention for drug use monitoring and harm minimisation measures.