Home
Search
thewest.com.au
NewsChevron Right Icon

Drugs & Alcohol

The West Australian exclusive
The West Australian exclusive
State election 2025CommentsPremium
The West Australian exclusive
Mining billionaire quietly gifts cannabis party big sum

The reclusive billionaire prospector has quietly donated $25,000 to a pro-cannabis legalisation political party ahead of this year’s State Election, new electoral disclosures reveal. 

Dylan Caporn

The West Australian exclusive
The West Australian exclusive
CRIMEVideoPremium
The West Australian exclusive
Public dob in suspected drug dealers before cops storm units

Sweeping police raids on an Ellenbrook block of units after the public dobbed in suspected drug dealers has led to three people facing a string of offences.

Caleb Runciman

YES TO REHABPremiumPush for local rehab facility in Albany continues

The Great Southern’s need for a residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility was met with enthusiasm but no promises by the Premier who told reporters last week there was a shortage of staff to run it.

Melissa Sheil

CrimePremiumDalkeith teen found running ‘drug enterprise’ from bedroom

The teen — who cannot be named for legal reasons — was arrested in August after selling manufactured cannabis lollies to two 16-year-old students at his school.

Lucy Murray

opinion
opinion
Emma JarvisCommentsPremium
opinion
When meth is cheaper than booze, we need a culture shift

Methamphetamine use, which had decreased during the COVID-19 border closures, is on the rise again in WA.

Emma Jarvis

HealthCommentsPremiumOlder Aussies turning to cannabis as cigarette prices rise

Older Australians are turning to cannabis due to the rising prices of cigarettes, according to new WA research. 

claire sadler

CrimePremiumMeth and guns taken off WA streets in ‘drug ring sting’

Guns, drugs and hundreds of thousands in cash has been seized as part of a joint police operation dismantling a Sydney-based drug syndicate allegedly worth millions and responsible for funneling meth into WA.

Caleb Runciman

Courts & JusticePremiumTeen cannabis gummy cook pleads guilty to dealing at school

A Perth boy pleaded guilty to making and selling drug-laced gummies at school, leading to an urgent police warning after two teens were hospitalised.

Caleb Runciman

MoviesPremiumThe harrowing true story of addiction & pain behind WA film

The scourge of meth in this State is seen in our suburbs and in WA courthouses. But a very personal story of methamphetamine addiction is the subject of a new feature film, He Ain’t Heavy.

Ben O'Shea

CrimeVideoPremiumTwo men charged after Feds uncover massive Perth drug haul

Authorities have charged two men after a major investigation by the Australian Federal Police and Australian Border Force led to the seizure of a huge haul of drugs in Perth last week.

Phil Hickey

opinion
opinion
Ben HarveyCommentsPremium
opinion
Shalom House’s war on drugs is not cult fiction

For someone who doesn’t do drugs I have spent an awful lot of time talking about them of late.

Ben Harvey

Ben Harvey

WA NewsPremiumAddiction isn’t the only issue for women at Shalom House

Addiction is just one issue for the women at Australia’s toughest rehab centre, with many also victims of quite horrific domestic violence.

Ben Harvey

WA NewsCommentsPremiumShalom House is proof drug addiction does afflict everybody

In Shalom House, Australia’s toughest rehab centre, you can’t cross the road to avoid someone you find intimidating because that person is sitting on the couch next to you.

Ben Harvey

CrimePremiumWhy Australia’s toughest rehab centre fights off cult claims

‘They can’t be trusted to make their own decisions so we make them for them.’

Ben Harvey

World newsCommentsCocaine hippos owned by drug kingpin sentenced to death

They belonged to drug lord Pablo Escobar — and just like the notorious underworld criminal, his randy group of ‘cocaine hippos’ are causing havoc.

Troy de Ruyter

Courts & JusticePremiumTeen accused of selling cannabis lollies hires top lawyer

The teenager who allegedly concocted his own cannabis-laced lollies – which left two of his schoolmates in hospital – has hired the same barrister to defend him as defenced Claremont killer Bradley Edwards.

Tim Clarke

The West Australian exclusive
The West Australian exclusive
CrimePremium
The West Australian exclusive
New details emerge after Perth mum’s crime for US lover

New details about a Perth mother’s foiled attempt to smuggle drugs into a US prison for the jailhouse lover she met online have been revealed.

Lauren Price

Courts & justicePremiumEscort caught up in AFL star’s drug sting dodges jail

A young Perth mum caught up in a cross-country drug smuggling operation involving ex-AFL star Sam Fisher has been given a non-custodial penalty.

Rebecca Le May

The West Australian exclusive
The West Australian exclusive
COURTS & JUSTICE Premium
The West Australian exclusive
BGC lawyer’s meth fine ahead of child exploitation hearing

A former BGC lawyer awaiting sentencing over a haul of child exploitation material has been fined over charges related to possession of meth.

Caitlyn Rintoul

The West Australian exclusive
The West Australian exclusive
Courts & JusticePremium
The West Australian exclusive
Top BGC lawyer facing charges including child exploitation

WA building firm BGC’s top lawyer has been charged with a string of offences — including meth possession and child abuse.

Caitlyn Rintoul

KimberleyPremiumAlcohol ban spurs dangerous trend in regional WA

Residents of a west Kimberley town want more treatment services to help the growing number of people on the banned drinkers register who are resorting to consuming hand sanitiser to feed their addiction.

Sarah Crawford

The West Australian exclusive
The West Australian exclusive
HealthPremium
The West Australian exclusive
Deadly drug you’ve likely not heard of putting people in ICU

A deadly synthetic drug up to 500 times more potent than heroin has arrived in WA – with some users ending up in the intensive care units of WA hospitals.

Phil Hickey

opinion
opinion
Emma JarvisComments
opinion
Nitazines pose great harm to our kids

Australia has an opportunity to learn from the North American and European experience of severe harms related to synthetic opioids.

Emma Jarvis

WA NewsCommentsPremiumREVEALED: WA’s deadly drug habits under the spotlight

WA’s thirst for deadly drugs such as heroin and cocaine reached record levels late last year — a bombshell new report shows.

Phil Hickey