SYDNEY is the cocaine capital of Australia, with everyone from stockbrokers to plumbers using the high-priced drug.

Research spearheaded by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre suggests that 3 tonnes of cocaine are consumed in Sydney and Melbourne every year, with Sydney users accounting for 90 per cent of it.

The report, Characteristics and Dynamics of Cocaine Supply and Demand in Sydney and Melbourne, shows cocaine users split into those who snort the drug recreationally and those who inject it as part of a pattern of heavy drug use.

Among recreational users, the average use of cocaine was about 1g a month — costing between $250 and $300. These socially integrated users, more typical of Melbourne, were in high-paying jobs, well- educated and reported few problems associated with their drug use.

In Sydney, there were also high levels of cocaine use among injecting drug users, who often mixed it with heroin. This pattern of use was reinforced by the 2003 heroin drought. They spent about $2800 a month on the drug, consuming half of all cocaine used. This group tended to support their habit through government benefits, sex work and drug dealing.

The report’s chief investigator, James Shearer, said the finding of Sydney as the dominant market was consistent with recent seizures by Customs and police.

He said most of the money in the supply chain was made by the importer, with a 1000 per cent mark-up the minute the drug arrived in Sydney.

“Cocaine sells wholesale for $150,000 per kilo, which leaves only a small profit margin for the domestic supply chain,” he said.

“The exception to this is the injecting drug users, who are not buying rationally and who are paying well over the odds for highly diluted cocaine.

“A lot of the dealers selling to the more socially integrated recreational users are motivated not so much by money as for social reasons, such as the wish to be popular.”

The study showed it was a myth that so-called high-flyers, such as stockbrokers, were almost the sole users of the drug.

“We actually started out with the strong assumption that the average user would be in the high-income groups,” Mr Shearer said. “But they’re just as likely to be a mechanic as a lawyer or stockbroker.”

The study found no specific industry or occupational groups over- represented. The hospitality industry accounted for 16 per cent of users, tradesmen such as plumbers, mechanics and carpenters accounted for 12 per cent, the sales and retail industry also made up 12 per cent and professionals such as management consultants, lawyers and stockbrokers only 11 per cent.

Mr Shearer will present the results of the study to the Australian Professional Society on Alcohol and Drugs conference in Melbourne this week.

The study, conducted in collaboration with the Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre in Melbourne, was funded by the National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund.

Cocaine flows in Thames — Page 12