Number of drug users in England and Wales rises to 2.7m

The number of adults using illicit drugs in England and Wales rose by an estimated 230,000 to 2.7 million over the past year, crime survey figures show.

The increase was driven by more people saying they had used cocaine, ecstasy, LSD and ketamine. Nearly 1 million people – or 3% of adults – used class A drugs including powder cocaine, heroin and ecstasy in 2013/14.

The Home Office statistics from the crime survey of England and Wales show that cannabis use remained stable, with about 2 million people aged 16 to 59 smoking or otherwise consuming it over the past year.

Most of the increase – 180,000 of the 230,000 extra illicit drugs users – comprised teenagers and young adults aged 16 to 24, who make up 1.1 million of the total number of drug users.

The survey does not capture the popularity of legal highs, as it asks only...

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URL: 
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jul/24/drug-users-rise-england-wales-crime-survey