January 28, 1999. Copyright, 1999, Graphic News. All rights reserved

REPORT FOCUSES ON DRUG USE IN UK
By Margot Nesdale

LONDON, January 28, Graphic News:  HEROIN use is on the rise in Britain, but Cannabis remains the favourite recreational drug among adults.
LSD and Ôdance drugsÕ like Ecstasy are going out of fashion, according to the annual Social Trends report released today (Jan 28) by the Office for National Statistics.
Written by the Institute for the Study of Drug Dependence, the report says drug seizures by police and customs show heroin use is on the increase.
The police and customs seized a total of 1,070kg of heroin in 1996, compared to 656kg in 1993 and 494 kg in 1991.
The report said cannabis was the most popular drug, with one in five adults in England and Wales having tried it.
More than a third of 16 to 19 year olds and around two in five 20 to 24 year olds are estimated to have taken the drug, with half of them using it regularly.
Up to 20 percent of people in their teens or early 20s have tried LSD and Ecstasy, and one in six have tried poppers (amyl nitrate).
While LSD and Ecstasy seizures rose between 1991 and 1995, they are now showing signs of levelling off, or even reducing.
The report said there was a strong link between drug taking and acquisitive crime, such as burglary, robbery, car theft and shoplifting although there was no clear picture of the extent or nature of the link.
A survey of offenders arrested for acquisitive crimes in London between 1996 and 1997 showed 54% had taken cannabis, 20% opiates, 27% cocaine, 15% benzodiazepines (tranquillisers), 11% methadone, 3% amphetamines and 22% alcohol.
Three in five arrestees tested positive for at least one drug and 27% for two or more drugs.
White men have the highest incidence of reported drug use among young people.
A quarter of white 16-29 year olds said they had taken drugs in the last year, followed by Afro-Carribeans at 19 percent and Asians at 10 percent.
Drug use was higher in London, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Belfast than other parts of the country.
A study of the role of drugs in road accident deaths by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, published in February 1998, showed that illicit drugs had been used in 16 percent of the cases.
The Government has implemented a 10-year strategy for tackling drug misuse. Drug-related spending in the UK was around £1.4 billion during 1997-98, a quarter of which was spent on prevention, education, treatment and rehabilitation. 
/ENDS

Sources: ONS Social Trends