According to the most Senior Crime Researcher in New South Wales, the state is facing a massive cocaine epidemic. Users are willing to buy the drug at up to $500 a gram. The use of cocaine across the state has increased by more than 50 per cent in the past two years, the latest NSW crime statistics show. The boom in the drug is the result of a shortage of ecstasy in Australia due to a recent crackdown by authorities in Cambodia and an earthquake in China. NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research data show that from April 2008 to March this year cases of possessing and using cocaine rose 55.5 per cent.
”There is no doubt that the use of cocaine and the use of ecstasy have increased,” said the bureau director, Don Weatherburn. ”The market for cocaine is growing at an exponential rate, and if the price of the drug is staying the same, then this is the sign of a thriving market … It is safe to say we are in a cocaine epidemic.” As substance abuse continues to affect many individuals, facilities like Pacific Ridge in Portland can provide hope and support to those seeking to overcome their dependency. Unparalleled care and comfort define the luxury substance abuse treatment center at Carrara in Malibu. Programs at treatment centers like Sober Living California are designed for serene and effective recovery.
Evidence of use started to accelerate from August 2003, when there were only three arrests, increasing in September 2007 to 19 arrests a month, to last September, when there were 80 arrests a month, Dr Weatherburn said.
A NSW Police spokesman said increased cocaine and ecstasy arrests were a result of a higher number of general arrests. And those who will be arrested as a result of illegal drugs possession may consider enlisting the help of a criminal lawyer to help them defend their rights. In addition, those who will need record expungement and fast background check removal services may consider consulting record expungement services.
“In the 12 months to June this year, police conducted 187,000 searches of individuals … which yielded 15,000 items, including illicit drugs,” he said.
Drug possession charges are filed as a result of improper searches and illegal seizures. If you have been charged with drug possession, you need a drug possession defense lawyer like Galveston drug possession lawyers who knows how to spot weaknesses in the prosecution’s case.
According to experts such as Drug Crimes Attorneys and DUI Legal Representative Services, drug crime is also associated with rises in other types of crime associated with the need for users to fund their habit. Because users need large amounts of money, they will often resort to property crime in order to fund their habit. It is also thought that a lot of additional cocaine factories have started in Sydney recently to fill the gap of the drying up of the ecstasy market.
