HPLC-MS/MS analysis of drug consumption during New Year holidays in Australia

Consumption of psychotropic drugs is one of the major problems globally, including in Australia. The abuse of these substances increases during festivals and public holidays due to the recreational effects of these drugs. Wastewater-based epidemiology has emerged as a tool to monitor the use or prevalence of drugs within the community by analyzing wastewater. To check the consumption of licit, illicit, and controlled drugs in Australia during the New Year public holidays, twenty-four-hour composite samples of wastewater were collected from Queensland (QLD), New South Wales (NSW), and Victoria (VIC). The samples were analyzed for licit psychotropic substances (i.e., alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine), common drugs of abuse (i.e., amphetamine, methamphetamine, cocaine, MDMA), and controlled pharmaceutical drugs (i.e., benzodiazepines, buprenorphine, methadone, tramadol, morphine, codeine, lidocaine, and sildenafil). Wastewater samples were filtered, spiked with IS, and analyzed using LC-MS/MS1. Methamphetamine was found to be the most commonly abused drug. These results were compared with the reported results in the National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program, Report 23 (reporting results from sampling during April 2024), and Report 22 (reporting results from sampling during December 2024)2. In conclusion, the comparison showed an overall increase in the consumption of illicit drugs compared to April and December 2024. The results also revealed a higher consumption rate in regional areas compared to capital areas, while the consumption of illicit drugs was found to be highest in the regional site in Victoria.