Cocaine- related charges up 55%: "convicted drug dealer Richard Buttrose likened it to having a glass of wine, and now the latest crime statistics show that cocaine use is skyrocketing in Sydney.
Cocaine-related charges laid by police in NSW rose 55 per cent in the 24 months to December and are now the highest in at least a decade.
A report by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research shows 753 people were charged for use or possession of the drug last year. Two-thirds of those were in inner Sydney and the eastern suburbs.
But researchers traditionally view official statistics about cocaine as less representative of the extent of its use because of a big number of ''hidden'' users."
Cocaine-related charges laid by police in NSW rose 55 per cent in the 24 months to December and are now the highest in at least a decade.
A report by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research shows 753 people were charged for use or possession of the drug last year. Two-thirds of those were in inner Sydney and the eastern suburbs.
But researchers traditionally view official statistics about cocaine as less representative of the extent of its use because of a big number of ''hidden'' users."
