Parliamentary Search

Written question asked by Ian Gibson (Labour) on Wednesday, 25 March 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 27 March 2009. It was answered by Phil Woolas (Labour) on Monday, 20 April 2009 on behalf of the Home Office.

Drugs: Crime

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which drugs fall into Class (a) A, (b) B and (c) C under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971; and what estimate she has made of the number of users of each drug in each class.
Answer

A list of the most commonly encountered drugs currently controlled under the misuse of drugs legislation is available on the Home Office website at the following link:"http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/cdlist.pdf?view=Binary"The latest figures from the British Crime Survey, showing the estimated number of drug users for each drug covered in the survey are shown in the table.

Estimated numbers of 16 to 59-year-olds who have taken drugs ever in their lifetime, in the last year and in the last month
Number (thousand) 2007-08 BCS
Used ever Used last year Used last month
Class A
Any cocaine 2,441 740 330
Cocaine powder 2,408 734 320
Crack cocaine 276 44 31
Ecstasy 2,394 470 164
Hallucinogens 2,869 198 48
LSD 1,655 88 28
Magic Mushrooms 2,198 156 28
Opiates 263 53 35
Heroin 217 34 24
Methadone 134 41 28
Class A/B
Amphetamines 3,741 329 113
Class B/C
Tranquillisers 901 147 65
Class C
Anabolic steroids 179 17 1
Cannabis 9,637 2,382 1,339
Ketamine 423 113 49
Not classified
Amyl Nitrite 2,856 472 193
Glues 718 32 13
Any class A drug 4,469 949 421
Any drug 11,467 2,996 1,701
Notes:
1. Estimates are derived by multiplying the prevalence rate by the 2007 population aged 16 to 59 in England and Wales (based on mid-2006 estimates from the Office for National Statistics).
2. It is not possible to add estimated numbers of drug users together for different drug types as users may have taken more than one type of drug.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
491 c172-3W; 267858
Session
2008-09
Subjects
Drugs Misuse
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk