Information provided by the Ministry of Justice showing the number of cautions given for possession of a controlled drug, by class, in England and Wales, 1997 to 2007 (latest available), can be viewed in table 1. The number given for possession with intent to supply can be viewed in table 2.
Cautions and court proceedings data for 2008 are planned for publication on 28 January 2010.
Year Class A Class B Class C Class A 1997 3,918 48,728 249 92/50-92/59 93/67 1998 4,130 51,515 242 Class B 1999 4,266 42,560 164 92/60-92/65 2000 4,479 34,595 147 Class C 2001 4,583 33,182 108 92/66-92/68 93/71-93/72 2002 4,563 38,482 149 2003 4,764 38,845 149 2004 5,576 10,114 14,605 2005 7,431 3,621 20,805 2006 10,139 2,746 21,367 2007 13,536 3,262 22,643
Year Class A Class B Class C Class A 1997 79 401 19 92/70-92/79 93/77 1998 88 470 10 Class B 1999 91 413 8 92/80-92/85 2000 139 305 7 Class C 2001 136 310 5 92/86-92/88 93/77-93/78 2002 132 336 5 2003 129 371 6 2004 137 207 280 2005 189 83 477 2006 247 53 519 2007 234 44 457 1 The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 2 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 3 Cannabis was reclassified in January 2004 to a class C drug. From 1997 to 2003 the class B category includes cannabis; from 2004-07 cannabis is included in class C. 4 Since April 2004 the police may issue an adult offender with a cannabis warning for simple possession of cannabis. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services: Ministry of Justice.