Forgotten how to party? Safety tips from a drug and alcohol expert

Cancelled dance parties, festivals and other events have shaped how Australians use alcohol and other drugs during the pandemic.

Now restrictions are easing, some people who have not used alcohol or other drugs recently may start to use them again, and need to be aware of their reduced tolerance.

Here’s what survey data released today by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, tell us about drug use and drug markets during the pandemic.

And here’s what to think about if your drug use during the pandemic has changed, and you’re about to head off to a party.

Cocaine up, ecstasy down, alcohol stable

Of the two yearly surveys released today, one relates to people who inject drugs such as heroin. The other relates to people who use ecstasy and other party drugs, who typically use drugs occasionally.

The group using ecstasy and other party drugs showed significant changes in drug use between 2020 and 2021. This variability is probably because this group tends to use in specific contexts and is more strongly influenced by access and opportunity.

More people used cocaine in 2021 than in 2020, continuing the upward trend in recent years. We don’t know why cocaine use has been increasing. But the frequency of cocaine use was very low at just a few days in the past six months.

Cocaine purity in Australia tends to be fairly low and has been decreasing. So, although other data also show that cocaine has increased in popularity in the past few years, we haven’t seen a big increase in harms.

Read more: Weekly Dose: cocaine, the glamour drug of the ’70s, is making a comeback

Fewer people used ecstasy in 2021; the frequency of use also decreased (from 12 days in the past six months in 2020 to seven days in 2021).

But this was not just because of closed venues or cancelled events. People surveyed said it was also harder to get. The closed international border has restricted importation of ecstasy and the chemicals used to make it. In the past year, ecstasy purity has reportedly decreased and the price increased.

More people said they used “magic mushrooms”, ketamine, and non-prescribed pharmaceutical stimulants such as dexamphetamine and methylphenidate. The frequency of use of these drugs was very low at just a few days in the past six months.

Read more: Weekly Dose: anaesthetic and recreational drug ketamine could be used to treat depression

The rate of alcohol use was stable. This is in line with other data showing that, although alcohol use may have increased slightly in the early months of the pandemic, it stabilised after that. Spending on takeaway alcohol at bottle shops increased, but the opportunities to drink at pubs, bars and restaurants decreased.

The surveys are not intended to represent all people who use drugs, so should be interpreted alongside other sources.

What might happen as restrictions ease?

As festivals and dance parties start up again, some people may start to use these drugs again.

When you use a drug, including alcohol, regularly, your body gets used to having it in your system and you need to use more to get the same effect. This is known as “tolerance”.

If you haven’t used a drug for a while, your tolerance may have decreased. You’ll need less to get the same effect. So if you start using the same amount as before you might unintentionally use too much and experience unwanted side effects, including overdose.