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Plant-Based Meth From Afghanistan Is Turning Up All Over the World

From Cape Town to Melbourne, a new partially synthetic meth has become an export bonanza for the world's biggest opium producer reports Vice.

Known for its vast poppy fields supplying around 90% of the globe's heroin, Afghanistan’s new plant-based meth – which is an easier and cheaper alternative for locals than making it from scratch in a lab – is turning up worldwide: in southern and eastern Africa; Iran, Iraq and Turkey in the Middle East; in Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka , Indonesia and Australia.

Known as “ice”, methamphetamine is popular in Australia and New Zealand, and has traditionally been imported from Southeast Asia, as well as recently from the Netherlands. Inside Australia, meth is distributed nationwide bikies. Last year, Australian customs uncovered a shipment of liquidised meth concealed inside bottles of mineral water. Forensic analysis revealed that the meth was likely produced with Afghan origin.

Australia is a tempting target for drug smugglers because of the huge mark-up from Asia to Oceania. Meth made in Afghanistan is often smuggled via Iran, with criminals sometimes duping law-abiding members of Australia’s Iranian community into receiving bottles of “hand sanitiser” or “shampoo” to be picked up by their associates.

Redditor claims meth is rampant in Brisbane

METH is easier to purchase than marijuana in Brisbane, according to Sarah Motherwell with the Courier Mail, and allegedly taken by a vast variety of people. Users have been identified to include stay-at-home mothers, police officers, and more, a Reddit user reports to the internet. The forum user claimed to have moved to Queensland in 2014 for university, but experienced an unexpected side-effect of the move; they were 'sucked into' taking meth because, "it was everywhere".

The reddit user said that the most confronting thing about Brisbane is the diversity of meth users, claiming that more people are using the drug than one might be led to believe: university students, retirees, tradesmen, and stay-at-home mums, just to name a few. The redditor also claims that ice, specifically, is sold by illicit dealers because it is the cheapest drug to use on a hit-by-hit basis, making it not only the easiest drug to access in Brisbane, but also the most affordable.

Article by Motherwell, S. (2016). Redditor claims meth is rampant in Brisbane. The Courier Mail.