Illicit drug use in Australia

Illicit drug use in Australia is the recreational use of prohibited drugs in Australia. Illicit drugs include illegal drugs (such as cannabis, opiates, and certain types of stimulants), pharmaceutical drugs (such as pain-killers and tranquillisers) when used for non-medical purposes, and other substances used inappropriately (such as inhalants). According to government and community organisations, the use and abuse of illicit drugs is a social, legal and health issue that creates an annual illegal market estimated to be worth A$6.7 billion.

Prior to Australian Federation, there was little policy response to the use of illicit substances.Opium was mostly regulated via colonial trade laws, with most government interventions taking the form of warning labels, designed to prevent death through overdose. According to the Victorian Premier's Drug Advisory Council in 1899, there were three main "classes" of opium users. The first class of opium users were middle-class, middle-aged women who took the drug for menstrual pain or to alleviate the symptoms of depression. The second class of opium users included doctors, nurses and other health professionals, who used the drug as a strategy for coping with the stress of their work. The third class were Chinese immigrants, amongst whom the drug was primarily used as a recreational substance.

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