Alcohol and other drug treatment services in Australia annual report 2023–24

Amphetamines: client demographics and treatment

In 2023–24, amphetamines were reported as a drug of concern (either principal or additional) in 1 in 3 treatment episodes (32%, 71,094) (Table Drg.5).

In 2023–24, amphetamines were the second most common principal drug of concern (26%, 57,791 episodes) (Table Drg.4):

• Amphetamines have remained the second most common principal drug of concern since 2015–16, when they surpassed cannabis for the first time (Table Drg.5).
• 82% of amphetamine-related treatment episodes (47,411) were for methamphetamine as the principal drug of concern, in 2023–24.
• Treatment episodes have almost doubled since 2014–15 (32,407 to 57,791 in 2023–24), although this has declined since 2019–20.
• In relation to all other drugs of concern, treatment episodes for amphetamines steadily rose between 2014–15 (20%) and 2019–20 (28%) but declined in 2020–21 to 24% where it remained until 2023–24 when it increased to 26% (Table Drg.1).

In 2023–24, 1 in 3 (33%, 19,277) amphetamine-related treatment episodes reported at least one additional drug of concern (Table Drg.2). The most common additional drugs of concern were cannabis (32%, 10,044), alcohol (20%, 6,285) and nicotine (17%, 5,237) (Table Drg.3). Clients can nominate up to 5 additional drugs of concern: these drugs may not have been the subject of any treatment in the episode.

Figure AMPHET: Closed treatment episodes for own alcohol or drug use by amphetamines as a principal drug of concern and top 5 additional drugs of concern, 2023–24

Note: Diagram presents the top 5 additional drugs of concern for a principal drug of concern by closed treatment episodes. Totals do not add to 100%.

Client demographics

In 2023–24, 30,540 clients received treatment for amphetamines as the principal drug of concern.

Of these clients:

• 3 in 5 were male (61%) (Table SC.9).
• 2 in 3 were aged either 30–39 years (39%) or 40–49 years (25%) (Table SC.10). This was consistent for both males and females (Figure AMPHET 1).
• 1 in 5 were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people (21% of clients) (Table SC.11). This represents a rate of 915 First Nations clients per 100,000 people (crude rate for clients aged 10 and over) (Table SCR.26).

Treatment

In 2023–24, 57,791 treatment episodes were provided to clients for amphetamines as the principal drug of concern (Table Drg.4).

Among amphetamine-related treatment episodes in 2023–24:

• The most common source of referral into treatment was self/family (37%, 21,510), followed by health services (26%) (Table Drg.37). This was similar for methamphetamine (37% and 26% respectively) (Figure AMPHET 2, Table Drg.13).
• The most common main treatment type was counselling (34%, 19,479), followed by assessment only (23%) (Figure AMPHET 2, Table Drg.36). This is consistent with previous years, although the proportion of counselling episodes has fluctuated in the 10 years to 2023–24.
• For methamphetamine, the most common main treatment type was counselling (35%, 16,797 episodes), followed by assessment only (24%) and rehabilitation (12%) (Figure AMPHET 2, Table Drg.36a).
• 3 in 5 treatment episodes took place in a non-residential treatment facility (63%) (Table Drg.38).
• The median duration of treatment episodes was around four weeks (29 days) (Table Drg.39).
• Episode duration varied by main treatment type, with the longest median duration being around 10 weeks (69 days) for counselling (Table Drg.41). Over 3 in 10 (31%) treatment episodes lasted 2–29 days, and a further 27% lasted 1 to 3 months (Table OV.12).
• 1 in 2 episodes ended with a planned completion (52%), while 25% ended unexpectedly (that is, the client ceased to participate against advice, without notice or due to non-compliance) (Figure AMPHET 2, Table Drg.38).
• In 2023–24, of the 57,791 treatment episodes provided to clients for amphetamines, 4 in 5 (82%, 47,411) treatment episodes were for methamphetamine as the principal drug of concern (Table Drg.5). Methamphetamine episodes increased since 2014–15 due to a combination of both improvements in data quality and in episode numbers (from 11,963 to 47,411) (Figure AMPHET 2).

Method of use

Among all amphetamine-related treatment episodes in 2023–24, smoking/inhaling was the most common method of use (52%), followed by injecting (32%) (Figure AMPHET 3, Table Drg.6). This was similar for methamphetamine (54% and 34% for smoking/inhaling and injecting, respectively) (Table Drg.6).

Between 2014–15 and 2023–24:

• The number of episodes where clients reported smoking/inhaling amphetamines increased from 15,121 in 2014–15 to 30,010 in 2023–24 (Figure AMPHET 3, Table Drg.6).
  • Within the methamphetamine subgroup, the number of episodes where clients reported smoking/inhaling increased from 5,536 in 2014–15 to 24,113 in 2023–24.
• The number of episodes where clients reported injecting amphetamines increased 1.7-fold between 2014–15 to 2019–20 (from 13,012 to 22,375), falling to 16,314 in 2021–22 before increasing to 18,307 in 2023–24 (Figure AMPHET 3, Table Drg.6).
  • Within the methamphetamine subgroup, the number of episodes where clients reported injecting amphetamines more than tripled from 5,420 to 16,137.

Increases in treatment episodes for smoking methamphetamine from 2010 onwards are associated with increased importation of high purity crystalline methamphetamine into Australia (Degenhardt et al. 2017). National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) analysis of AODTS NMDS data indicates this greater availability of crystalline methamphetamines is reflected in the increased number of episodes identifying smoking as a method of use. Treatment episodes for methamphetamines where smoking was the method of use were primarily provided to younger clients (median age 30 years). These clients were more likely to receive main treatment types of assessment only or support and case management (McKetin et al. 2021).