Estimates of the prevalence of drug use among the household population in England and Wales are provided by the British Crime Survey (BCS), which has included a comparable self-completion module on drug use since 1996.
The prevalence of self-reported drug use in the past year amongst those aged 16-59 in England and Wales from the BCS is shown in the following table. This shows that use of amphetamines and cannabis has declined significantly since 1998. Cocaine powder use has increased over the same period but most of this increase took place prior to 2000, since when use has remained generally stable.
It should be noted that general population surveys such as the British Crime Survey provide poor coverage of more problematic users, who are more likely to use heroin and crack. These figures are therefore likely to be an underestimate of use of these drugs. A three year research programme is currently underway which will provide us with a better assessment of trends in the prevalence of problematic opiate and crack use in the future.
Drugs 1996 1998 2000 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 Statistically significant change 1998 to 2005-06 Any Cocaine 0.6 1.3 20. 20. 2.1 2.5 2.0 2.4 1— Cocaine powder 0.6 1.2 2.0 2.0 2.1 2.4 2.0 2.4 1— Crack cocaine 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.2 — Ecstasy 1.7 1.5 1.8 2.2 2.0 2.0 1.8 1.6 — Heroin 0.2 0.1 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 — Amphetamines 3.2 3.0 2.1 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.4 1.3 2— Cannabis 9.5 10.3 10.5 10.6 10.9 10.8 9.7 8.7 2— Unweighted base 10,741 9,884 12,771 19,973 23,357 24,197 28,206 29,631 — 1 Statistically significant increase at the 5 per cent. level. 2 Statistically significant decrease at the 5 per cent. level. Note: From 2001, the reporting year for BCS data switched from calendar to financial years. Source: 1996,1998, 2000, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 BCS.