Premier Mark McGowan says there is no “magic solution” to WA’s methamphetamine problem while playing down trends in a new report which revealed use of the drug was back on the increase in the State.

An Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission report released this week showed WA had retained its crown as the meth capital of the nation with an increase in consumption in the city and a small decrease on average use levels in the regions compared to the last reporting period.

WA still has the worst regional average for meth use in the country despite the drop.

Mr McGowan said consumption levels in WA were not as bad as three years ago.

“We do all we can to deal with this, we’ve got the meth border force, we have all sorts of initiatives in rehabilitation in supporting people to get off the drug but it’s an addiction so it’s difficult to deal with,” he said.

“I don’t think there are any magic solutions to this problem.

“The rate of usage has come down since its peak in 2016 but clearly we need to keep the pressure up.”

Health Minister Roger Cook was also quick to point to the fact meth use in WA was 25 per cent less than peaks in 2016 and said the statistics should be read with a grain of salt.

“It doesn’t actually tell you who’s using meth or how much they’re using,” he said.

“The methamphetamine action plan taskforce report clearly identified even though we’re having less people using meth, they’re using a much higher potency and they’re using more of it.”

Shadow health minister Sean L’Estrange said the meth situation was getting worse and not better.

“The McGowan Government went to the last election saying it would reduce methamphetamine use in Western Australia and would help fix all of the problems attributed to that type of drug use and other drug use but it’s not,” he said.

“We’ve had millions of dollars spent by this government trying to reduce the problem and instead what we’re getting is we’re probably getting worse.

“(The government) must set targets for reducing the use of this drug type, once those targets are set you must have a plan for how you achieve those targets.”

The ACIC report found cannabis and MDMA use had increased in both the city and regions.