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Drugs: Crime

Volume 491: debated on Tuesday 21 April 2009

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. (267858)

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.