The counsellors named higher ice prices and lower purity and availability as some of the reasons for the fall, but noted that users often used other types of drugs instead.

The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission last week released its quarterly National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program.

The results found that Methylamphetamine or ice usage in regional NSW fell sharply after April last year.

Calvary Riverina Drug and Alcohol Centre manager Brendan McCorry said he had seen changes in the types of drugs people sought treatment for.

"For the first time in a couple of years alcohol is moving up to equal methamphetamine use as the major reason that people are seeking treatment," he said.

"There has been a disruption to certain drug supplies because of the COVID restrictions.

"The other factor is the street price also went up so it is now more expensive than it was before and that probably reduced its attractiveness to people as well, but it is still a fairly significant problem."

The wastewater report found that several unnamed cities and towns in regional NSW saw ice use drop from 65 doses per 1000 people per day to just 30.

Directions Health runs Murrumbidgee Pathways and offers drug and alcohol counselling to about 500 people a year in Wagga.

Service delivery director Stephanie Stephens said their Murrumbidgee clients had described changes in the availability of different substances during the pandemic.

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"They also reported changes in quality, particularly around poor quality and very expensive methamphetamines," she said.

"For some people that might mean transitioning to different substances and using larger amounts of them."

Ms Stephens said alcohol and nicotine still had the highest usage overall and ice was still the most used illicit drug.

More easily available drugs such as cannabis and alcohol saw a rise in while ice use fell.

"I think that's partially reflecting the availability of the drug," Mr McCorry said.

"Alcohol and cannabis have always been more available in rural areas compared to methamphetamines and the illicit opiates like heroin."

The report for the first time published results on ketamine, an animal tranquiliser that can be illegally abused for its hallucinogenic and dissociative effects.

The average prevalence of ketamine use in regional NSW was just 30 per cent below Sydney.

"What we find in people seeking treatment is that people are using a variety of drugs but people normally don't report ketamine as a significant drug of concern," Mr McCorry said.

"Usually they are using it in conjunction with some other drug."

Ms Stephen also said ketamine use was rarely the sole reason why people sought treatment.

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