MORE Australians are "breaking bad" with new drug data showing a record number of home meth labs and overall illicit substance abuse soaring to more than twice the previous year.

The Australian Crime Commission's Illicit Drug Data report for 2011-12 released today shows drug seizures of all substances soared to 23.8 tonnes, up from 9.63 tonnes the year before.

The number of seizures rose to 76,000 and law enforcement authorities made more than 93,000 illicit drug-related arrests.

NSW recorded the highest weight of drugs seized, over 15 tonnes, which accounted for 64.46 per cent of all illicit drugs seizures.

The weight of cocaine seizures nationally was the highest recorded in the past decade, up 44.45 per cent with 785.7kg detected.

Victoria had the highest number of cocaine seizures by weight, 470kgs, followed by Queensland, 294kgs, but ccoaine users in the ACT and the Northern Territory were paying the most for the drug, at up to $500 a gram.

Queensland recorded the highest number of illicit drug arrests when compared nationally.

In South Australia, cannabis related offences accounted for for 90 per cent of all illicit drug law enforcement action.

Victoria reported the highest percentage increase in weight of amphetamines uncovered, jumping from 42kg to 580kg.

A record 809 clandestine drug laboratories were located around the country, mostly producing amphetamines, with 70.6 per cent of labs located in residential areas.

Queensland, followed by Western Australia had the most clandestine drug labs detected, Crime Commission CEO, John Lawler said.

He said the substances used to make illicit drugs, such as methylamphetamine, were highly volatile and posed a significant risk to the community, potentially causing respiratory problems, severe burns and even death.



"The residue from drug manufacturing can pose risks for many years, including damage to the environment through soil and water contamination as well as the disposal of toxic waste in public spaces," he said.



"It is particularly worrying that nationally, 70 per cent of all clandestine laboratories detected were in residential areas - where people live, work and go to school."

There was also evidence of medium to industrial size amphetamine laboratories, with large scale seizures including 542kgs of pseudoephedrine in shipping containers in NSW, and large quantities of hypophosphorous acid, a precursor chemical used in the manufacture of methylamphetamine, detected in consignments from China to Queensland.

In NSW, a single 11 tonne seizure of hypophosphorous acid accounted for 82 per cent of the national haul.

Traffiicking of performance and image-enhancing drugs was a "large and highly profitable market" which was on the increase, with detections "at the border" the highest reported in the last decade of record taking, as were the number of steroid seizures nationally.

The report said most most border detections were uncovered in parcels posted from overseas or interstate.

"In the aftermath of the US Anti-Doping Agency investigation into Lance Armstrong, it is clear that systemic doping remains a constant threat to professional sport, both from a fair play perspective and as a broader integrity issue," the report said.

Mr Lawler said the illicit drug market in Australia had evolved significantly over the past decade into a very diverse marketplace enabled in part by the cyber environment.

"One constant is the presence of organised crime," he said. "The illicit drug market remains the principle source of profit for organised crime and continues to be a key focus of our response."