May 27, 2005: Illicit Drug Use in England and Wales

A new research report, ‘Drug Misuse Declared: Findings from the 2003/04 British Crime Survey’ just published by the Home Office illuminates the extent of illicit drug use among 16 to 59 year olds in England and Wales in 2003/04.

The report explores trends in drug use since 1996, based on data from the British Crime Survey (BCS). In addition to asking respondents about their experiences of crime, the BCS also asks about a number of other crime- related topics. (The BCS has since 1996 included questions on illicit drug use.) It particularly focuses on young people and changes since 1998 - the beginning of the Governments’ Drugs Strategy. The research also considers geographical, socio-economic and lifestyle factors associated with drug use.

An estimated total of over 11 million people aged 16 to 59 in England and Wales have at some point used illicit drugs; just under 4 million have used drugs in the last year and over 2 million used them in the last month. It is also estimated that over 4 million people aged 16 to 59 have used Class A drugs in their lifetime; just over 1 million having used them in the last year and over half a million in the last month.

According to the 2003/04 BCS, over a third (35.6%) of 16 to 59 year olds have used one or more illicit drugs in their lifetime, and around one in eight used one or more illicit drugs in the previous year. Approximately one in twelve used one or more illicit drugs in the previous month. The results also indicated that 13.4% of those aged 16 to 59 have used a Class A drug at least once in their lifetime, 3.5% used at least one Class A drug last year and 1.8% last month.

The results indicate that among young people aged 16 to 24, the use of any drug has decreased significantly and Class A drug use has remained stable since 1998.

However, cocaine has become increasingly popular amongst those using Class A drugs. For those aged 16 to 59, the use of ‘Any drug’ between 1998 and 2003/04 has remained stable and Class A drug use increased significantly. It is thought that this increase is mainly due to a significant increase in the use of cocaine and ecstasy and an increase in the percentage of people aged 25 to 59 who take Class A drugs. The age of psychedelia may, however, be drawing to a close; the use of hallucinogens, in particular LSD, has decreased significantly.

However, cannabis is the drug of choice for most. The 2003/04 BCS suggest that 10.8% of those aged 16 to 59 year olds used cannabis in the last year. Cocaine is the second most popular drug - 2.4% claim to have used it in the last year. This is closely followed by ecstasy at 2% and amphetamines at 1.5%. Other drugs are more rarely used.

Commenting on ‘Drug Misuse Declared: Findings from the 2003/04 British Crime Survey’, Home Office Minister Paul Goggins said:

“Treatment works, and it is no coincidence that as drug treatment programmes have expanded, drug-related crimes like theft and burglary recorded by the police have fallen significantly – by 11 per cent last year.

“But we are not complacent. Drug misuse is still too high and the Government has an ambitious programme to do more. Over the next year, we will be rolling out tough new powers from the Drugs Act to enable the police and courts to put more drug dealers behind bars and get more drug misusing offenders into treatment. And we will continue to put significant levels of funding into young people’s substance misuse.”