Ottawa, Nov 2 (IANS): Statistics Canada said that cocaine use is continuing to show signs of increase in the country based on new data of wastewater monitoring.

In most Canadian municipalities, cocaine levels increased from January to May 2022 compared with the same period in 2020, the national statistical institute said.

Provisional results from 2023 also suggest the trend of increasing levels of cocaine use continues in most municipalities, Xinhua news agency quoted the institute as saying.

These observations are based on new data released Wednesday from the Canadian Wastewater Survey (CWS).

The CWS has regularly been collecting wastewater samples from several municipalities across the country since 2019 to test for various drugs.

Wastewater-based estimates of drug use have traditionally been used to assess longer-term trends.

However, in the context of an ongoing drug crisis in some parts of Canada, wastewater data can provide nearly real-time information which contributes to a better understanding of current drug use and emerging trends, Statistics Canada said.

The UN 2023 Global Report on Cocaine indicates that half a million Canadians reported using cocaine in 2022 and that cocaine is highly available in Canada.

Moreover, Canada had a lower retail price for cocaine than many other countries, according to the Statistics Canada.

Canadian cities also displayed very large levels of methamphetamine, or crystal meth, compared with cities in other countries worldwide.

Among countries with available wastewater data that use comparable methodology, cities in the US, Czech Republic, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand had the highest levels of methamphetamine use in 2022, Statistics Canada said.