As a community we see the signs of drug use on the streets and read about successful drug raids in the media. Whenever the 'drug' profile is raised we ask the question "are drugs a problem in Lismore?"

The Lismore App sat down with Superintendent (Supt) Scott Tanner of the Richmond Police District to find the answers.

Firstly, here are some statistics that cover Lismore and its other towns in the 2480 postcode.

In 2020, there were 304 drug detection incidents. Of those detections 208 were related to possession of a drug or plant, followed by 48 Other Drug Detection/Seizure Offences (such as steroids) and the more significant 11 Supply Drug/Plant 24 and 1 Cultivation detection. There was only 1 case of drug manufacturing detected in 2020 in the 2480 post code.

Of the 304 drug detection incidents 82% of people were charged. Included in the 18% not charged are incidents were crops are found in forest areas but no person has been involved or drugs being found in a car or on the street.

While those numbers appear to be low Supt Tanner said that 3,462 cannabis plants were seized last year giving you an idea of the scale of some of the illegal operations. "That is about standard," Supt Tanner said, "we would average 3,500 to 4,500 plants per year."

This number includes all types of cannabis plants from the one or two grown at someone's house to more complex hydroponic set-ups and those grown in state forests as pictured above.

"Every year we run a drug eradication program where we utilise the air-wing sector of the police force and local police to target known locations for cultivation," Supt Tanner said.

It appears some criminals are not too smart though. When asked if they use the same spots in the following years Supt Tanner said "you would be surprised, you would be very surprised."

The information in the seizure of cannabis plants comes from the community through calls to Crime Stoppers after seeing suspicious activity.

Of course there is the ongoing debate over whether marijuana should be decriminalised in Australia. Every May since 1993 in Nimbin MardiGrass protests against the current drug laws and seeks to educate people on the various uses of cannabis. In the ACT you can carry 50 grams of marijuana and grow up to four plants.

Supt Tanner offers insight into the police view.

"A lot of people think that cannabis is a soft drug, and I don't want to get into that debate, but certainly the large cultivation of cannabis is a foothold for outlawed motorcycle gangs, organised crimes because they use that to sell to the market to get money in to purchase other drugs like cocaine and ice."

"Cannabis is still the drug of choice for many Australians so it is easier to offload. This comes with less risk, less charges and less stigma."

That stigma is emphasised through a strong visual picture. Imagine someone you know smoking a joint once a week versus someone you know who injects ice once a week.

Have the border closures made a difference to the supply of drugs in our community?

"It certainly has, Supt Tanner explained, "what we have found is, and what we have found globally, especially with the closure of international borders, is that drugs like ice, MDMA and cocaine is harder to be imported. This pushed it back into the local market which forced some people into manufacturing their own. This carries a whole new range of risk, not just criminal risk but an increased health risk to users due to the limited manufacturing knowledge."

Now that the borders are open once again, it does make it easier for drug mules to supply our area.

"The problem here is that we do have a bit of a transient community and we do have the major road networks going through so transportation is a lot easier and detection can be harder. "

What is the impact of ice in Lismore?

"Ice is horrendous. We had the Royal Commission into ice in 2019 which revealed that it is a 'curse' of a thing due to the way it's manufactured. You can have two individual grams of ice made from the same batch but they will have completely different compounds because of how the substance crystallises."

"It is highly addictive and creates all sorts of dramas with us because it makes people aggressive. If you go back to the 80's and 90's where heroin was the drug of choice, the users would have a hit and be asleep in the corner whereas ice is a stimulant so it keeps people going and it is cheap compared to other drugs."

A 'point' of ice is worth about $100 which according to reports is the equivalent to one hit and is 0.1 of a gram. The bigger problem lies when the user reaches a 'hit a day' rate. They then buy a gram of ice, sell five points and use the other five, which in effect gives them free drug use. They are not the mister bigs of the criminal world but the majority are feeding their own habit while others raise the money through stealing items they can sell.

Supt Tanner declared "we have had ice labs discovered in Lismore in the past. It can be made in the back of a car in a very small amount of time, they quite often use motel rooms if they are travelling through."

You may remember the car pursuit that occurred on the 15th January where a stolen car in Ballina ended up in a fence on Ravenswood Drive in Goonellabah (story). The driver was on an ice bender.

"He would not have stopped until we had caught him. He was going from house to house to house looking to steal cars and bashing people, he was out of control. How he did not kill someone is beyond me," Supt Tanner said.

Every police officer is trained in drug detection so it is an every day task. Officers of the Richmond District Police Force have a list of suspects that they believe are dealing drugs and a list of locations and they will patrol the area overtly and covertly to try and detect the culprits.

"We see someone in the community who we know is an ice user, we will engage with them because we want to make sure they are not going to go on a bender and commit more crimes. The drug removes a lot of peoples inhibitions, their reasoning, their judgement and their risk taking is impaired."

How can we, as a community, help?

"Keep a look out for those very distinctive signs. New people moving into a house near you, commercial cultivation like hydroponic set-ups, the power being on all times of the day and night, windows blacked out, people coming and going at suspicious times of the day and night, all those telltale signs."

"In the manufacturing of ice there is a distinctive odour due to the chemical reaction."

According to internet sources this odour is like ammonia or ether and can be compared to the smell of cat urine and rotten eggs.

Where are the areas with the highest drug supply incidents in 2020? Goonellabah and Lismore.

If you see any suspicious activities report it to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Public tip-offs can lead to further investigation and the arrest of larger criminals or 'Mister Bigs' as they are known.

"One of our strong cases we ran last year was Strike Force Ranson," Supt Tanner said, "that was utilising resources from Queensland, Victoria, Richmond Police District, State Crime Command Criminal Groups Squad which led to the arrest and charging of Jake Magri who was a large supplier of ketamine, MDMA and cocaine into the area as well as firearms."

In summary, Lismore and surrounds has no more a drug problem than any other small city of its size. Drugs exist as do crimes that go hand in hand with those drug habits.

It is good to know that the Richmond District Police Force led by Superintendent Scott Tanner are doing everything they can to keep drug related crime as low as possible.