Prevalence of drug misuse by 16 to 24 year olds in the previous year, 2004/05, England and Wales
In 2004/05, 14 per cent of men and 8 per cent of women aged 16 to 59 in England and Wales said that they had taken an illicit drug in the previous year. Among young people (those aged 16 to 24), 33 per cent of men and 21 per cent of women said they had done so in the previous year.
The most commonly used drug by young people was cannabis, which had been used by 30 per cent of young men and 18 per cent of young women in the previous year.
Cocaine and ecstasy were the most commonly used Class A drugs In 2004/05, 7 per cent of men and 3 per cent of women aged 16 to 24 had used cocaine in the previous year, and the same proportions reported use of ecstasy in the past year.
Since 1998 there has been an increase in the use of cocaine among young people. In contrast the use of cannabis, amphetamines and LSD has declined.
Drug offences accounted for 3 per cent of recorded crime in England and Wales in 2005/06. Drug offences can cover a range of activities, including unlawful production, supply, and most commonly, possession of illegal substances. Total recorded drug offences increased by 23 per cent in 2005/06 compared with 2004/05. The increase, for the most part, was due to a 36 per cent increase in the recording of possession of cannabis offences that coincided with an increase in the number of formal warnings for the possession of cannabis. This increase in formal warnings accounts for around two thirds of the increase in cannabis possession offences.
In 2004, the latest year for which data are available, the total number of drug seizures in England and Wales declined by 2 per cent to 107,360. Seizures were 19,000 lower than in the last peak in 1998. HM Customs and the National Crime Squad generally seized larger amounts while local police forces made a greater number of smaller seizures.
Compared with 2003, in 2004 there were fewer Class A seizures (down 2%). Cannabis was reclassified from being a Class B to a Class C drug on 29 January 2004, and accounted for 70 per cent of the total number of seizures in 2004. Data for Classes B and C in 2004 are therefore distorted and should not be directly compared to those of earlier years.
In terms of the quantity of drugs seized, 4.6 tonnes of cocaine and 4.6 million tablets of ecstasy were seized in 2004, decreases of 33 per cent and 31 per cent respectively on 2003.
Source: British Crime Survey 2004/05, Crime in England and Wales 2005/06, Seizures of drugs in England and Wales 2004, Home Office
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