United Kingdom

United Kingdom - Data

(2008) "In England and Wales, the 2007–08 BCS [British Crime Survey], conducted among people aged 16–59, showed that 35.8 % of respondents had tried any illegal drug at least once in their lives (lifetime prevalence rates). Lifetime prevalence of cannabis was 30 %; amphetamines, 11.7 %; ecstasy, 7.5 %; cocaine powder, 7.6 %; and LSD, 5.2 %. In 2007–08, last year prevalence of cannabis use was reported to be 7.4 %, showing a steady decline in cannabis use since 2003 (10.8 %). Also, since 1996, there has been an increase in cocaine use, but a corresponding decrease in amphetamine use."

(2007) "In 2006–07, opioids were the most reported primary drug among all clients entering treatment at 63.7 %, followed by cannabis at 15.6 % and cocaine at 12.7 %. Treatment demand data among first-time treatment clients indicated a similar distribution with the primary substance of use being opioids at 47.7 %, followed by cannabis at 25.1 % and cocaine (including crack) at 17.4 %."

(2007) "The latest data show that in 2007, there were 152 HIV diagnoses, where infection was thought to have been acquired through injecting drug use. HIV prevalence remains low in the UK, although there is evidence of increased transmission amongst recent initiates: 1.0 % of those participating in the 2007 UAPMP survey compared to 0.25 % in 2002."

"The prevalence of antibodies to the hepatitis C virus (HCV) among IDUs in England and Wales is between 29–60 %, but this varies according to region and, also, other risk factors such as duration of injecting."

(2007) "Based on the Drug Strategy definition, the number of drug-related deaths in the UK rose steadily between 1996 to 2001, fell from 2001 to 2003, but has risen subsequently to 2 025 in 2006. Males accounted for 79 % of deaths and the average age of those dying was 37.4 years. In 2007, 2 069 direct drug-related deaths were recorded (compared to 2 025 in 2006, 1 987 in 2005 and 1 887 in 2004)."

(2006) "In 2006, there were 123 132 convictions or cautions for drug offences in the United Kingdom. Of those offences where a drug was known, 51.9 % were cannabis related,14.6 % heroin-related and 14.3 % cocaine-related. In addition, 80 527 cannabis warnings were issued in England and Wales in 2006."

(2006) "Increases are reported for all drugs, the largest being for herbal cannabis with a total of 107 424 seizures, cannabis plants with a total of 5 906 seizures, and cocaine with a total of 18 064 seizures. In 2006, there was a decrease in the quantity of seizures for a number of drugs, namely cannabis resin, heroin and cocaine."

(2008) "Latest estimates for the United Kingdom suggest that there are 400 469 problem drug users (with a 95 % CI of 393 247–417 861), a rate of 9.97 (9.79–10.40) per 1 000 population. This estimate is based on different definitions of problem drug use and different time periods."

^{"The EMCDDA defines problem drug use as intravenous drug use (IDU) or long duration/regular drug use of opiates, cocaine and/or amphetamines. Ecstasy and cannabis are not included in this category. The UK excludes powder cocaine users from the case definition due to the characteristics of the available data sources which would probably cause the inclusion of a potentially large number of occasional users into the estimates."}

(2007) "...the UK appears to account for over 80% of all primary crack episodes in Europe."

(2005) "Despite substantial increases in drug seizures, street drug prices have gone down, with the price for a gram of heroin falling from £70 in 2000 to £54 in 2005. Tougher enforcement should theoretically make illegal drugs more expensive and harder to get. The prices of the principal drugs in Britain have declined for most of the last ten years and there is no indication that tougher enforcement has succeeded in making drugs less accessible."

(2005) "The use of custodial sentences for drug offenders increased substantially between 1994 and 2005. The annual number of people imprisoned rose by 111% and the average length of their sentences increased by 29%. Taking into account the rise in the average sentence length (37 months for drug dealing in 2004), the courts handed out nearly three times as much prison time in 2004 as they did 10 years earlier."

(2002) "49% of 16-24 year olds in 2001/2002 reporting ever using an illicit drug compared to 52% in 1998. For 16-24 year olds drug use in the last 12 months has decreased from 30% in 1998 to 29% in 2001/2002. For the same age group drug use in the last month has remained stable at 19% in 1998 and 19% in 2001 (Aust et al, 2002)."

(2002) "Data from the 2001/2002 sweep of the British Crime Survey (Aust et al, 2002) shows 'ever use' for adults aged 16-59 is unchanged from the previous year. In the 2001/2002 and 2000 survey 34% of 16-59 year olds had ever used an illicit drug compared to 32% in 1998, 29% in 1996 and 28% in 1994 (Aust et al, 2002).

"12% of adults aged 16-59 had used drugs in the last 12 months in 2001/2002 compared to 11% in 2000 and 1998, and 10% in 1996 and 1994. Reported illicit drug use in the last month for 16-59 year olds in 2001/2002 increased to 8%, compared to 6% in all the previous sweeps of the survey (1994-2000). Most of this reported drug use is accounted for by cannabis (Aust et al, 2002)."

(2002) "The UK is exceptional internationally because heroin is included in the range of legally sanctioned treatments for opiate dependence. In practice, this treatment option is rarely utilised: only about 448 heroin users receive heroin on prescription."

(2001) "Preliminary results from the 2001 'drug use, smoking and drinking among young people in England' by the National Centre for Social Research and the National Foundation for Educational Research, show that 12% of pupils aged 12-15 had used drugs in the last month and 20% had used drugs in the last year. Between 1998 and 2000, last month drug use among young people aged 11-15 increased from 7% to 9% and last year use increased from 11% to 14%. A revised method of measuring prevalence was used in 2001 and thus the data between 2001 and previous years are not strictly comparable. It is likely though that drug use has remained stable or slightly increased from 2000 (NCSR & NFER, 2002).

"As in previous years, cannabis was the most likely drug to have been used with 13% of pupils aged 11-15 having used it in the last year. Use of cannabis in the last year among boys was slightly higher (at 14%) than girls (12%). Cannabis use increased sharply with age with 1% of 11 year olds having used the drug in the last year compared to 31% of 15 year olds. Again, this is similar to results from 2000 (NCSR & NFER, 2002)."

(2001) "The most recent estimate of problem drug use in the UK relates to 1996. Current studies will provide new estimates in 2003 as well as figures for smaller (Drug Action Team) areas. Recent work has been undertaken to provide more accurate figures for 1996 (Frischer et al., 2001). This work looked at estimates using three different types of methodology. The findings estimate that in England, Scotland and Wales:

"- 143,000 people are at risk of mortality due to drug overdose;
"- 161,000 to 169,000 people have ever injected drugs;
"- 202,000 are opiate users;
"- and 266,000 are problem drug users."

(2000) "Two in five injectors in England and Wales are infected with hepatitis C antibody. In Scotland and England and Wales, there is a clear relationship between prevalence of infection and duration of injecting career, indicating that harm reduction initiatives may be having an impact on hepatitis C transmission. A total of 56% of all known cases of hepatitis C in Scotland (10,161) were known to have ever injected drugs (Codere and Shaw 2000)."

(1998) "In 1998 there was a modest fall in the proportion of offenders cautioned to 47%, 23% were fined and 8% sentenced to immediate custody. The number of persons given immediate custodial sentences rose by 4% compared to a 19% increase between 1996 and 1997."

(1998)
"• "Estimates of problem drug use suggest that prevalence of problem drug use is between 3 to 4% for the London districts of Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham, Camden and Islington, and Newham.

"• Further there may be as many as 266,000 problem drug users in Great Britain as a whole."

(1998) "The number of drug offenders increased by 13% to 127,900 in 1998. 90% were possession cases, mainly of cannabis. There was an increase of 32% in the number of cocaine offenders (excluding crack ones) to 4,400, of 30% in the number of heroin offenders to 11,400, and of 13% in cannabis offenders to 97,200."

(1998) "Relatively high proportions of prisoners reported using heroin during their current stay in prison -- 10-20% of prisoners in England and Wales, and 31% in Scotland."

(1997) "A recent survey of syringe exchange provision in the UK suggested that in 1997 an estimated 2,320,000 syringes were distributed by approximately 2,300 outlets in England, Scotland and Wales (J. Parsons, personal communication). No syringe exchanges in Northern Ireland were identified. Syringe exchanges distributed large numbers of syringes and are probably in contact with more injecting drug users than any other intervention."

United Kingdom - Law and Policy

(law) "In the United Kingdom in 2002, following a two-year inquiry by a Parliamentary Committee, the Government announced its intention to transfer cannabis from Class B to Class C under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Psychoactive substances are placed in three categories (A, B and C) in the UK according to the degree of danger they present: Class A: methadone, morphine, MDMA, LSD, opium, heroin, etc.; Class B: codeine, cannabis (until 29 January 2004), amphetamines, etc.; Class C: sedatives, benzodiazepines, anabolic steroids, etc. The severity of the penalties imposed depends on the class of drug. Despite the transfer of cannabis from Class B to Class C, the police have retained the power of arrest. They may, as a minimum, simply confiscate the substance and warn the offender unofficially provided that there are no aggravating circumstances (if there are aggravating circumstances, arrest and prosecution may follow and a custodial sentence of up to two years may still be imposed). The reclassification took effect in January 2004."

The United Kingdom officially downgraded the classification of cannabis from Class B to Class C effective Jan. 29, 2004. The London Guardian reported that:

"Under the switch, cannabis will be ranked alongside bodybuilding steroids and some anti-depressants.

"Possession of cannabis will no longer be an arrestable offence in most cases, although police will retain the power to arrest users in certain aggravated situations - such as when the drug is smoked outside schools. The home secretary, David Blunkett, has said the change in the law is necessary to enable police to spend more time tackling class A drugs such as heroin and crack cocaine which cause the most harm and trigger far more crime."

(policy) "Since 1998 the government has provided additional funding to increase the number of drug using offenders engaged with treatment services. This included the introduction of Drug Treatment and Testing Order pilot schemes. Under this order courts may, with the offender's consent, make an order requiring the offender to undergo treatment either as part of another community order or as a sentence in its own right. It is envisaged that such schemes will be available in all courts in England and Wales by 2001. Police forces in England and Wales are also operating Arrest Referral Schemes whereby problem drug users are identified and encouraged to take up appropriate treatment. These schemes are also currently being expanded, with the target of 100% coverage of all police stations by 2002."

(policy) "The United Kingdom has had an ‘arrest referral scheme’ since 1999, offering detained persons with addiction problems the possibility of treatment immediately after their first contact with the police when arrested. The project aims principally to use the criminal justice system to identify potential problem drug users and to put them in touch with the appropriate therapeutic facilities. Arrest referral schemes are undertaken in partnership with social workers and the police. They are not alternatives to prosecution or the criminal justice system. The available statistics on the project show that social workers interviewed a large number of arrestees (19 190) between October 2000 and March 2001 – 23 % for shoplifting, 16 % for selling and possession of drugs, 10 % for burglary and 10 % for other theft – and that over half (56 %) were referred for therapy."

(law) "Throughout 1998 and 1999 an inquiry into the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 was carried out under the auspices of the independent research charity, the Police Foundation (Police Foundation 2000). The Inquiry team, chaired by Viscountess Runciman, considered changes which have taken place in UK society since the introduction of the Act in 1971 and assessed whether the law as it currently stands needs to be revised in order to make it both more effective and more responsive to those changes.... The Police Foundation report recommends that certain changes be made to the classification of drugs, for example whilst heroin and cocaine would remain in Class A (the most dangerous category) ecstasy and LSD would transfer to class B and cannabis would become a class C drug. The report does not call for any drug currently covered by the Act to be legalized. The report also suggests that changes be introduced to the penalties for possession of drugs, that laws against dealers and traffickers be strengthened, and that a significant shift in resources towards treatment services be made."

(policy) "The UK drug strategy sets out four key aims. These are:

"• To help young people resist drug misuse in order to achieve their full potential in society.

"• To protect our communities from drug-related anti-social and criminal behaviour.

"• To enable people with drugs problems to overcome them and live healthy and crime free lives.

"• To stifle the availability of illegal drugs on our streets."

United Kingdom - Research

"Our findings raise questions about the validity of the current Misuse of Drugs Act classification, despite the fact that it is nominally based on an assessment of risk to users and society. The discrepancies between our findings and current classifications are especially striking in relation to psychedelic-type drugs. Our results also emphasise that the exclusion of alcohol and tobacco from the Misuse of Drugs Act is, from a scientific perspective, arbitrary. We saw no clear distinction between socially acceptable and illicit substances. The fact that the two most widely used legal drugs lie in the upper half of the ranking of harm is surely important information that should be taken into account in public debate on illegal drug use. Discussions based on a formal assessment of harm rather than on prejudice and assumptions might help society to engage in a more rational debate about the relative risks and harms of drugs."

(policing and low priority cannabis violations) Law enforcement authorities in the UK conducted an experiment in policing in the London borough of Lambeth, wherein cannabis violations were given a low priority. Researchers for PRS Consultancy Group undertook an evaluation of the program at the request of the Borough Police Commander. The researchers found that:

"The measures of police activity demonstrate that the policy has succeeded in releasing resources, and that activity against more serious offences has increased.

"During the 6 months of the evaluation, Lambeth officers issued 450 warnings. This released at least 1350 hours of officer time (by avoiding custody procedures and interviewing time), equivalent to 1.8 full-time officers. A further 1150 hours of CJU staff time was released by avoiding case file preparation.

"In comparison with the same 6 months in 2000, Lambeth officers recorded 35% more cannabis possession offences and 11% more for trafficking. In adjoining Boroughs possession offences fell by 4% and trafficking fell by 34%.

"Lambeth also increased its activity against Class A drugs relative to adjoining Boroughs."

(Sativex) "A marijuana-based medication for people suffering from multiple sclerosis and severe pain is expected to be approved for sale in Britain early this year, British officials say.

"The drug, Sativex, developed by GW Pharmaceuticals, a British company, is a liquid extract from marijuana grown by the company under license from the government. Developed to be sprayed under the tongue, it would be the first drug in recent decades to include all the components of the cannabis plant, advocates of medical marijuana say."

(analysis of UK drug policy - study conclusion) "Government policies have only limited impact on rates of drug use itself. However policies are highly relevant because they can have significant impacts on the levels of drug-related harm. There is now a great deal of international research showing significant reduction in lifetime drug use among drug users who receive treatment and substantial reductions in both crime and health risk behaviours, especially during the treatment episode. Harm reduction initiatives, notably needle exchange and opiate substitution, reduce HIV risk behaviours – to the benefit of both individuals and society. Some research shows that particular kinds of enforcement can reduce the openness and disorder around the distribution of drugs, an important source of harms."

(policing of cannabis in the UK) South Bank University's Criminal Policy Research Unit conducted a detailed study of the policing of cannabis in England. The study found that:

"One in seven of all known offenders in England and Wales were arrested for the possession of cannabis.

"There has been a tenfold increase in the number of possession offences since the mid-1970s. There is no evidence that this increase has been an intended consequence of specific policy.

"Possession offences most often come to light as a by-product of other investigations.

"A minority of patrol officers ‘specialise’ in cannabis offences: 3 per cent of officers who had made any arrests for possession accounted for 20 per cent of all arrests.

"Arrests for possession very rarely lead to the discovery of serious crimes.

"Officers often turn a blind eye to possession offences, or give informal warnings.

"Of the 69,000 offenders who were cautioned or convicted in 1999, just over half (58 per cent) were cautioned.

"The financial costs of policing cannabis amount to at least £50 million a year (including sentencing costs), and absorb the equivalent of 500 full-time police officers.

"The researchers conclude that:

"- re-classification of cannabis to a Class C drug will yield some financial savings, allowing patrol officers to respond more effectively to other calls on their time;
"- the main benefits of reclassification would be non-financial, in removing a source of friction between the police and young people;
"- there would be a very small decline in detection of serious offences, but this should readily be offset by the savings in police time."