Use of ecstasy continues to fall

The use of ecstasy has more than halved in the past four years, a survey for the State’s drug advisory committee has found.The survey was released by the National Advisory Committee on Drugs yesterday with results compared to the last survey in 2006-2007.

The use of ecstasy decreased from 1.2 per cent in 2006-2007 to 0.5 per cent of adults in 2010-2011, it found.

The use of illegal drugs such as cocaine and cannabis stabilised or declined in many areas, having peaked in 2006 - 2007. Overall, 1.5 per cent of adults used cocaine in 2010 - 2011, compared with 1.7 per cent in 2006 -2007.

The survey also found a reduction in legal drug use. There was a sharp fall in tobacco smoking by women, down 5 per cent to 29 per cent.