United Kingdom

United Kingdom - Data

(2010 - United Kingdom - cannabis cultivation sites) "In the United Kingdom, the number of detected illicit cultivation sites of commercial size jumped from 3,032 in the growing period 2007/08 to 6,866 in the growing period 2009/10."

(2009 - United Kingdom - prevalence of lifetime drug use) "In England and Wales, the 2009/10 BCS, conducted among people aged 16–59, showed that 36.4% of respondents had tried any illegal drug at least once in their lives (lifetime prevalence rates). Lifetime prevalence of cannabis was 30.6%; amphetamines, 11.7%; cocaine, 8.8%; ecstasy, 8.3%; and LSD, 5.3%. In 2009/10, last year prevalence of cannabis use was reported to be 6.6%, showing a steady decline in cannabis use since 2003/04 (10.8%). Also, since 1996, there was an increase in cocaine use until the period of 2008/2009. However, the most recent survey shows a decline in last year prevalence down to levels observed between 2003/04 and 2007/08."

(2009 - United Kingdom - drug treatment) "In 2008/2009, opioids were the most reported primary drug among all clients entering treatment at 61.2%, followed by cannabis at 17.1% and cocaine at 14.5%. Treatment demand data among first-time treatment clients indicated that for 41.0% clients, the primary substance of use was opioids, followed by cannabis at 28.0% and cocaine at 21.8 %(¹)."

(2009 - United Kingdom - HIV diagnoses) "The latest data show that in 2009, there were 149 HIV diagnoses, where infection was thought to have been acquired through injecting drug use. HIV prevalence remains low in the UK, although prevalence amongst recent initiates has been elevated since 2003."

"In 2009, the prevalence of antibodies to the hepatitis C virus (HCV) among IDUs [injecting drug users] in England and Wales was 44%, but in London it was at 54%. In Northern Ireland, prevalence was 26.1%."

(2009 - United Kingdom - drug-related deaths) "Based on the Drug Strategy definition, the number of drug-related deaths in the UK rose steadily between 1996 to 2001, fell from 2001 to 2003, but increased subsequently to 2569 in 2008 (compared to 2231 in 2007, 2036 in 2006, 1980 in 2005 and 1877 in 2004). In 2009 the number of death fell to 2481. Males accounted for 79.1% of deaths and the average age of those dying was 38.9 years."

(2008 - United Kingdom - convictions for drug offense) "In 2008, there were 146,909 convictions or cautions for drug offences reported by the United Kingdom, which is an increase when compared to 2007 (135,655). Of those offences where a drug was known, 50.2% were cannabis related, 18.2% cocaine-related and 14.3% heroin-related."

(2006 - United Kingdom - drug seizures by police) "In general, the quantity of seizures has been rising in the United Kingdom, cannabis being the most seized drug. In 2009, 12,690 kg of cannabis resin, 18,162 kg of herbal cannabis and 764,184 cannabis plants were seized across the UK (²)."

(2007 - United Kingdom - crack cocaine episodes) "...the UK appears to account for over 80% of all primary crack episodes in Europe."

(2007 - United Kingdom - problem drug users) "Latest estimates (2004–07) for the United Kingdom suggest that there are 404,884 problem drug users (with a 95% CI of 396,267–431,120), a rate of 10.1 (9.9–10.8) per 1,000 population. This estimate is based on different definitions of problem drug use and different time periods. In England (2006/07), case definition is the use of opiates and/or crack cocaine; in Scotland (2006), it is the use of opiates and/or benzodiazepines; in Northern Ireland (2004), it is opiate and/or problem cocaine use and for Wales (2006/07), it is long duration or regular use of opiates and/or cocaine.

"The EMCDDA defines problem drug use as intravenous drug use (IDU) or long duration/regular drug use of opiates, cocaine and/or amphetamines."

(2005 - United Kingdom - street prices of drugs) "Despite substantial increases in drug seizures, street drug prices have gone down, with the price for a gram of heroin falling from £70 in 2000 to £54 in 2005. Tougher enforcement should theoretically make illegal drugs more expensive and harder to get. The prices of the principal drugs in Britain have declined for most of the last ten years and there is no indication that tougher enforcement has succeeded in making drugs less accessible."

(2005 - United Kingdom - prison sentences) "The use of custodial sentences for drug offenders increased substantially between 1994 and 2005. The annual number of people imprisoned rose by 111% and the average length of their sentences increased by 29%. Taking into account the rise in the average sentence length (37 months for drug dealing in 2004), the courts handed out nearly three times as much prison time in 2004 as they did 10 years earlier."

(2002 - United Kingdom - heroin maintenance) "The UK is exceptional internationally because heroin is included in the range of legally sanctioned treatments for opiate dependence. In practice, this treatment option is rarely utilised: only about 448 heroin users receive heroin on prescription."

(2001 - United Kingdom - problem drug use) "The most recent estimate of problem drug use in the UK relates to 1996. Current studies will provide new estimates in 2003 as well as figures for smaller (Drug Action Team) areas. Recent work has been undertaken to provide more accurate figures for 1996 (Frischer et al., 2001). This work looked at estimates using three different types of methodology. The findings estimate that in England, Scotland and Wales:

"- 143,000 people are at risk of mortality due to drug overdose;
"- 161,000 to 169,000 people have ever injected drugs;
"- 202,000 are opiate users;
"- and 266,000 are problem drug users."

(2000 - United Kingdom - hepatitis C among injecting drug users) "Two in five injectors in England and Wales are infected with hepatitis C antibody. In Scotland and England and Wales, there is a clear relationship between prevalence of infection and duration of injecting career, indicating that harm reduction initiatives may be having an impact on hepatitis C transmission. A total of 56% of all known cases of hepatitis C in Scotland (10,161) were known to have ever injected drugs (Codere and Shaw 2000)."

(1998 - United Kingdom - problem drug users)
"• "Estimates of problem drug use suggest that prevalence of problem drug use is between 3 to 4% for the London districts of Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham, Camden and Islington, and Newham.

"• Further there may be as many as 266,000 problem drug users in Great Britain as a whole."

(1998 - United Kingdom - drug offenders) "The number of drug offenders increased by 13% to 127,900 in 1998. 90% were possession cases, mainly of cannabis. There was an increase of 32% in the number of cocaine offenders (excluding crack ones) to 4,400, of 30% in the number of heroin offenders to 11,400, and of 13% in cannabis offenders to 97,200."

(1998 - United Kingdom - drug offenders cautioned, fined and sentenced) "In 1998 there was a modest fall in the proportion of offenders cautioned to 47%, 23% were fined and 8% sentenced to immediate custody. The number of persons given immediate custodial sentences rose by 4% compared to a 19% increase between 1996 and 1997."

(1997 - United Kingdom - syringe exchange) "A recent survey of syringe exchange provision in the UK suggested that in 1997 an estimated 2,320,000 syringes were distributed by approximately 2,300 outlets in England, Scotland and Wales (J. Parsons, personal communication). No syringe exchanges in Northern Ireland were identified. Syringe exchanges distributed large numbers of syringes and are probably in contact with more injecting drug users than any other intervention."

United Kingdom - Law and Policy

(United Kingdom - law & policy - transfer of cannabis to Class C) "In the United Kingdom in 2002, following a two-year inquiry by a Parliamentary Committee, the Government announced its intention to transfer cannabis from Class B to Class C under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Psychoactive substances are placed in three categories (A, B and C) in the UK according to the degree of danger they present: Class A: methadone, morphine, MDMA, LSD, opium, heroin, etc.; Class B: codeine, cannabis (until 29 January 2004), amphetamines, etc.; Class C: sedatives, benzodiazepines, anabolic steroids, etc. The severity of the penalties imposed depends on the class of drug. Despite the transfer of cannabis from Class B to Class C, the police have retained the power of arrest. They may, as a minimum, simply confiscate the substance and warn the offender unofficially provided that there are no aggravating circumstances (if there are aggravating circumstances, arrest and prosecution may follow and a custodial sentence of up to two years may still be imposed). The reclassification took effect in January 2004."

(United Kingdom - downgrade of cannabis to Class C) The United Kingdom officially downgraded the classification of cannabis from Class B to Class C effective Jan. 29, 2004. The London Guardian reported that:

"Under the switch, cannabis will be ranked alongside bodybuilding steroids and some anti-depressants.

"Possession of cannabis will no longer be an arrestable offence in most cases, although police will retain the power to arrest users in certain aggravated situations - such as when the drug is smoked outside schools. The home secretary, David Blunkett, has said the change in the law is necessary to enable police to spend more time tackling class A drugs such as heroin and crack cocaine which cause the most harm and trigger far more crime."

(United Kingdom - drug treatment as part of a sentence) "Since 1998 the government has provided additional funding to increase the number of drug using offenders engaged with treatment services. This included the introduction of Drug Treatment and Testing Order pilot schemes. Under this order courts may, with the offender's consent, make an order requiring the offender to undergo treatment either as part of another community order or as a sentence in its own right. It is envisaged that such schemes will be available in all courts in England and Wales by 2001. Police forces in England and Wales are also operating Arrest Referral Schemes whereby problem drug users are identified and encouraged to take up appropriate treatment. These schemes are also currently being expanded, with the target of 100% coverage of all police stations by 2002."

(United Kingdom - treatment referral) "The United Kingdom has had an ‘arrest referral scheme’ since 1999, offering detained persons with addiction problems the possibility of treatment immediately after their first contact with the police when arrested. The project aims principally to use the criminal justice system to identify potential problem drug users and to put them in touch with the appropriate therapeutic facilities. Arrest referral schemes are undertaken in partnership with social workers and the police. They are not alternatives to prosecution or the criminal justice system. The available statistics on the project show that social workers interviewed a large number of arrestees (19 190) between October 2000 and March 2001 – 23 % for shoplifting, 16 % for selling and possession of drugs, 10 % for burglary and 10 % for other theft – and that over half (56 %) were referred for therapy."

(United Kingdom - changes to drug classification) "Throughout 1998 and 1999 an inquiry into the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 was carried out under the auspices of the independent research charity, the Police Foundation (Police Foundation 2000). The Inquiry team, chaired by Viscountess Runciman, considered changes which have taken place in UK society since the introduction of the Act in 1971 and assessed whether the law as it currently stands needs to be revised in order to make it both more effective and more responsive to those changes.... The Police Foundation report recommends that certain changes be made to the classification of drugs, for example whilst heroin and cocaine would remain in Class A (the most dangerous category) ecstasy and LSD would transfer to class B and cannabis would become a class C drug. The report does not call for any drug currently covered by the Act to be legalized. The report also suggests that changes be introduced to the penalties for possession of drugs, that laws against dealers and traffickers be strengthened, and that a significant shift in resources towards treatment services be made."

(United Kingdom - drug strategy) "The UK drug strategy sets out four key aims. These are:

"• To help young people resist drug misuse in order to achieve their full potential in society.

"• To protect our communities from drug-related anti-social and criminal behaviour.

"• To enable people with drugs problems to overcome them and live healthy and crime free lives.

"• To stifle the availability of illegal drugs on our streets."

United Kingdom - Research

(United Kingdom - validity of drug classification system) "Our findings raise questions about the validity of the current Misuse of Drugs Act classification, despite the fact that it is nominally based on an assessment of risk to users and society. The discrepancies between our findings and current classifications are especially striking in relation to psychedelic-type drugs. Our results also emphasise that the exclusion of alcohol and tobacco from the Misuse of Drugs Act is, from a scientific perspective, arbitrary. We saw no clear distinction between socially acceptable and illicit substances. The fact that the two most widely used legal drugs lie in the upper half of the ranking of harm is surely important information that should be taken into account in public debate on illegal drug use. Discussions based on a formal assessment of harm rather than on prejudice and assumptions might help society to engage in a more rational debate about the relative risks and harms of drugs."

(United Kingdom - policing and low priority cannabis violations) Law enforcement authorities in the UK conducted an experiment in policing in the London borough of Lambeth, wherein cannabis violations were given a low priority. Researchers for PRS Consultancy Group undertook an evaluation of the program at the request of the Borough Police Commander. The researchers found that:

"The measures of police activity demonstrate that the policy has succeeded in releasing resources, and that activity against more serious offences has increased.

"During the 6 months of the evaluation, Lambeth officers issued 450 warnings. This released at least 1350 hours of officer time (by avoiding custody procedures and interviewing time), equivalent to 1.8 full-time officers. A further 1150 hours of CJU staff time was released by avoiding case file preparation.

"In comparison with the same 6 months in 2000, Lambeth officers recorded 35% more cannabis possession offences and 11% more for trafficking. In adjoining Boroughs possession offences fell by 4% and trafficking fell by 34%.

"Lambeth also increased its activity against Class A drugs relative to adjoining Boroughs."

(United Kingdom - harm reduction) "Government policies have only limited impact on rates of drug use itself. However policies are highly relevant because they can have significant impacts on the levels of drug-related harm. There is now a great deal of international research showing significant reduction in lifetime drug use among drug users who receive treatment and substantial reductions in both crime and health risk behaviours, especially during the treatment episode. Harm reduction initiatives, notably needle exchange and opiate substitution, reduce HIV risk behaviours – to the benefit of both individuals and society. Some research shows that particular kinds of enforcement can reduce the openness and disorder around the distribution of drugs, an important source of harms."

(policing of cannabis in the UK) South Bank University's Criminal Policy Research Unit conducted a detailed study of the policing of cannabis in England. The study found that:

"One in seven of all known offenders in England and Wales were arrested for the possession of cannabis.

"There has been a tenfold increase in the number of possession offences since the mid-1970s. There is no evidence that this increase has been an intended consequence of specific policy.

"Possession offences most often come to light as a by-product of other investigations.

"A minority of patrol officers ‘specialise’ in cannabis offences: 3 per cent of officers who had made any arrests for possession accounted for 20 per cent of all arrests.

"Arrests for possession very rarely lead to the discovery of serious crimes.

"Officers often turn a blind eye to possession offences, or give informal warnings.

"Of the 69,000 offenders who were cautioned or convicted in 1999, just over half (58 per cent) were cautioned.

"The financial costs of policing cannabis amount to at least £50 million a year (including sentencing costs), and absorb the equivalent of 500 full-time police officers.

"The researchers conclude that:

"- re-classification of cannabis to a Class C drug will yield some financial savings, allowing patrol officers to respond more effectively to other calls on their time;
"- the main benefits of reclassification would be non-financial, in removing a source of friction between the police and young people;
"- there would be a very small decline in detection of serious offences, but this should readily be offset by the savings in police time."

(heroin maintenance in the United Kingdom) "The UK is exceptional internationally because heroin is included in the range of legally sanctioned treatments for opiate dependence. In practice, this treatment option is rarely utilised: only about 448 heroin users receive heroin on prescription."`