3 ms·

In the US and Canada: not really. In other countries, yes. Australia's heroin supply is still basically just heroin, and extremely high purity, even on the str

by girvo 4y ago

In the US and Canada: not really. In other countries, yes. Australia's heroin supply is still basically just heroin, and extremely high purity, even on the street, interestingly. While fentanyl does exist here, it's not that common. I cannot give a good reason as to why. It's interesting.

woodruffw 4y ago
I'm not saying this is the reason, but out of curiosity: does Australia's drug agency/agencies place as strong of an emphasis on border interdiction? A large part of the US's drug policy emphasizes "flashy" seizures of large amounts of drugs at the border, which has incentivized smugglers to pursue more potent (and therefore more compact) alternatives.
- seunosewa 4y ago
  --
  - woodruffw 4y ago
    Thank you, I'm aware of that. That has very little bearing on whether there's a policy of border interdiction or not, since borders include things like ports and international airports.
- jowsie 4y ago
  My information on the scene is extremely out of date, but 10 years ago it was more common for users to get some prescription morphine and convert it to heroin themselves. There was also a pretty big market for illicit acetic acid because of this, too. This was because importation was difficult, making any imported product vastly more expensive than what you could make yourself.
  - girvo 4y ago
    Homebake is long gone. To be honest it was on the way out even a decade ago, though you're right it was slightly more common. These days the bulk of the heroin in the country is brought in from Asia, controlled by Chinese and Vietnamese crime syndicates.
- austhrow743 4y ago
  On darknet markets there's a pretty big markup on product sold within Australia compared to what you could get from Europe. I always assumed it was because if you ordered the Europe stuff there was a much higher chance of it not showing up. We also don't share a lengthy land border with a country partially run by cartels. So I would be shocked if it was anywhere near as easy to get drugs in to Australia as it is the US, let alone easier.
- girvo 4y ago
  > does Australia's drug agency/agencies place as strong of an emphasis on border interdiction Yes, even more so than the US frankly. Our border is difficult to get black market goods through. It's also why heroin is nearly 10x the cost here in Australia, of course.

by girvo 4y ago

woodruffw 4y ago

I'm not saying this is the reason, but out of curiosity: does Australia's drug agency/agencies place as strong of an emphasis on border interdiction? A large part of the US's drug policy emphasizes "flashy" seizures of large amounts of drugs at the border, which has incentivized smugglers to pursue more potent (and therefore more compact) alternatives.

seunosewa 4y ago
--
- woodruffw 4y ago
  Thank you, I'm aware of that. That has very little bearing on whether there's a policy of border interdiction or not, since borders include things like ports and international airports.
jowsie 4y ago
My information on the scene is extremely out of date, but 10 years ago it was more common for users to get some prescription morphine and convert it to heroin themselves. There was also a pretty big market for illicit acetic acid because of this, too. This was because importation was difficult, making any imported product vastly more expensive than what you could make yourself.
- girvo 4y ago
  Homebake is long gone. To be honest it was on the way out even a decade ago, though you're right it was slightly more common. These days the bulk of the heroin in the country is brought in from Asia, controlled by Chinese and Vietnamese crime syndicates.
austhrow743 4y ago
On darknet markets there's a pretty big markup on product sold within Australia compared to what you could get from Europe. I always assumed it was because if you ordered the Europe stuff there was a much higher chance of it not showing up. We also don't share a lengthy land border with a country partially run by cartels. So I would be shocked if it was anywhere near as easy to get drugs in to Australia as it is the US, let alone easier.
girvo 4y ago
> does Australia's drug agency/agencies place as strong of an emphasis on border interdiction Yes, even more so than the US frankly. Our border is difficult to get black market goods through. It's also why heroin is nearly 10x the cost here in Australia, of course.