News.com.au reports, sensationally of course, that cocaine is ‘rife among young Australians’ at the moment, and it’s their ‘party drug of choice’. I can’t help but wonder whether a little more investigation is warranted before making grand statements that seem to suggest cocaine usage is at epidemic proportions.

The article reports that in an unnamed survey of 120 people aged 18 to 35, almost half (53) admitted to ‘using the drug’, with 71% stating they knew where they could buy it if they wanted to. The survey is problematic in a number of ways – firstly, in such a small sample size it’s easy for trends to take on exaggerated meaning. Also, where were these young people surveyed? There would be a huge difference in the trends if the subjects were taken from those who are club regulars compared with, say, a broader population sample. What does ‘using the drug’ mean? Does it mean ‘has ever used’ or ‘regularly uses’?

Perhaps a more useful (and reputable) reference is the 2007 National Drug Strategy (ADS) Household Survey, a survey of 23,000 Australians aged over 12 years (unfortunately, it doesn’t segment the 18-35 year range). According to the ADS survey, only 1.6% has used cocaine in the last 12 months. Cocaine usage had risen significantly since the last survey – from 1.0%. Much more commonly used illicit drugs were cannabis (9.1%), ecstasy (3.5%), speed (including ‘ice’) (2.3%) and pain-killers (for non medical purposes) (2.5%).

As for 71% stating they would know where to buy the drug if they wanted to, what does that really mean? It certainly doesn’t mean that 71% are planning to use cocaine, which seems to be implied. It just means that in our hyper-connected world people are more aware of where to obtain them than they once were. This is not to downplay the real rise in cocaine usage, as those interviewed in the article didn’t think that cocaine could be harmful. Perhaps the key information missing is how to reduce harm?