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Australian Tasmania's residents may soon be subject to anonymous drug tests, as police consider sampling the state's wastewater to uncover the prevalence of illicit drugs.
Tasmanian police announced on Wednesday they were seeking out experts to conduct the testing as a way of tracking its citizens' drug use habits, especially in regard to methamphetamine.
"Advice has been sought on the testing methodology for consideration for use in Tasmanian communities," Assistant Commissioner of Tasmania police Richard Cowling told News Limited.
Cowling said Tasmania Police had been looking into practice, following Monday's announcement by the West Australian (WA) government that it would undertake its own testing.
WA's Police Minister Liza Harvey authorized the analysis of three of Perth's water treatment plants for metabolites -- the human body's by-product when metabolizing methamphetamine.
Harvey said the "shock value" of the tests readings might shine a light on WA's drug use.
Wastewater testing is extremely effective in determining rates of drug use in the society, according to experts.
Tests have already been carried out in other Australian states, including Victoria and Queensland.
Victoria's testing, staged at one of Melbourne's sewage plants last year, showed one in 20 people had traceable use of methamphetamine.
The Queensland test was carried by the University of Tasmania, University of Queensland and the Australian Federal Police in various parts of the state.
It found drug use jumped considerably over the weekend, and on average 250 U.S. dollars was spent by every 1,000 people on ice in an area populated by 150,000 people.
Wastewater testing has been used in prison facilities to test for drugs, as well as the spread of sexually transmitted diseases such as Hepatitis and HIV.
