National Amphetamine-Type Stimulant Strategy Background Paper: Monograph Series No. 69
6.2 Domestic methamphetamine production
It is estimated that 90% of ATS in the Australian illicit drug market is produced in Australia in clandestine laboratories, while the other 10% is imported (Schloenhardt, 2007). Predominantly, domestic production is focused on ATS of lower purity forms, such as base, and reports suggest that high purity crystal methamphetamine production takes place in Asia or elsewhere, and is subsequently imported into Australia (Schloenhardt, 2007). A significant proportion of ATS production occurs in small clandestine laboratories (clan-labs) located in private homes, car-boots and hotel rooms, which make detection in manufacturing and trade difficult for law enforcement agencies, particularly in rural areas (Schloenhardt, 2007). Domestic seizures reflect that production is smaller in scale, unlike, for example, in the United States, where supply is met by larger ‘super-labs’ (Schloenhardt, 2007).
Modes of production detected in Australia include:
- hypophosphorous method – use of hypophosphorous acid and iodine;
- red phosphorous method – use of hydriodic acid and red phosphorous;
- ‘nazi’ method – using lithium or sodium with anhydrous ammonia; and
- P2P or Leuckart method – using phenylacetone or benzyl methyl ketone with formic acid or aluminium amalgam.
Methamphetamine production in Australia takes place in practically all states with further evidence of the impact of Project STOP evident from detections in Queensland. Queensland had the highest clandestine laboratory figures since 1997–98, however a significant decrease in the number of laboratories detected in 2005–06 was reported in this state, which may be attributed to the introduction of Project STOP in early 2006 (Australian Crime Commission, 2006). The IDDR reported a 42% decrease in clandestine laboratory detections in the Northern Territory in 2005–06, while there were significant increases in the number of detections in WA and Victoria (Australian Crime Commission, 2007). The submission from NDARC noted that there have been reports by consumers of domestic production of crystal methamphetamine. While evidence of domestic production of crystal methamphetamine is not documented in Australian Crime Commission (ACC) reports, there is considerable police concern at both federal level and state level that several sophisticated laboratories already discovered, were capable of making crystal methamphetamine. Therefore, concurrent sustained efforts to control domestic diversion of precursor chemicals and manufacture is needed to disrupt high levels of domestic production that occur within Australia.
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Table 6.1: Number of clandestine laboratory detections by state and territory, 96/97-05/06
a. Jurisdictional breakdown unavailable for 1996-97.
Source: ACC, Illicit Drug Data Report 2005-06, Canberra: ACC
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