Key findings
- Heroin was the most frequently reported drug last injected among ANSPS respondents with one in three reporting last injecting this drug in 2009.
- Methamphetamine was the second most frequently reported drug last injected, although prevalence declined in recent years, from 32% in 2005 to 24% in 2009.
- Pharmaceutical opioids replaced methadone as the third most commonly reported last drug injected in 2007. Prevalence of pharmaceutical opioids as last drug injected increased during the past five years to 16% in 2009, while prevalence of methadone injection remained stable at around 9%.
- The proportion of respondents reporting cocaine, buprenorphine or anabolic steroids as last drug injected has remained low and stable, with prevalence of 5% or less in all of the past five years.
- Reported prevalence of injecting risk behaviours (including frequency of injecting, public injecting, reuse and receptive sharing of needles and syringes, and receptive sharing of ancillary equipment) were all relatively stable over the period 2005 to 2009.