Approximately 43% of all Australians aged 14 years and over have admitted to using an illicit drug on at least one occasion throughout their life.

Additionally, nearly 16% of Australians have confessed to using an illicit drug at least once in the last year.

Cannabis is the most frequent drug used among the Australian people with an estimate of 35% lifetime use. The closest to this is MDMA which has an estimate of around 11% lifetime use.

A reason towards the high cannabis use may be due to the Australian Capital Territory legalizing the recreational possession and cultivation of marijuana in September 2019. This now allows any residents of the capital territory over the age of 18 to possess up to 50 grams of dried marijuana and grow two plants per person or four per household at a time. The supply of the drug to other people however still remains an illegal act.

It is estimated that approximately 60 per cent of those who use illicit drugs are also daily smokers and/or consume alcohol at a level that is considered to be of risk to their everyday health. Another noticeable finding among drug users in Australia is that the majority of methamphetamine, cocaine or ecstasy users are also users of other illicit drugs.