POLICE have vowed to continue fighting illegal drug use on the Mid North Coast in light of recent figures showing a massive leap in arrests.
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There has been a 36 per cent increase in drug detection arrests across the Local Area Command over the past 12 months.
Most of the arrests have been by Strike Force Intrepid, which was established in February 2013 to prevent the violent crimes associated with drug use.
Superintendent Paul Fehon said a majority of the arrests since then have been cannabis-related, which is four times higher in arrest rates than any other drug.
Arrests for MDMA, or ecstasy, and methylamphetamine, known as ice, have continued to increase every year from 2012.
From 2013 to 2014 there was a 100 per cent jump in MDMA arrests, while ice busts increased 25 per cent in the same period.
“The continual detection of ice and the violent behaviour that goes with it is very concerning,” Supt Fehon said.
But police hold the greatest fear about the community’s abuse of pharmaceutical drugs, which jumped 100 per cent from 2013 until 2014.
“The concerns we have are around the abuse of pharmaceutical drugs,” Supt Fehon said.
“The illegal actions of those using non-prescribed medication for themselves lead to a number of concerns about habitual use.”
The region’s top cop stressed these problems extend far beyond the Mid North Coast.
“We’ll continue to focus on the supply of illegal drug and abuse of prescribed drugs, through Strike Force Intrepid and other measures,” he said.