Class A drug use among young adults at 16-year high
Eight per cent of people aged 16 to 24 have taken a class A drug in the last year – official figures
Thursday, September 19, 2019
Class A drug use among young adults is at a 16-year-high, driven by increases in powder cocaine and ecstasy use, official estimates have revealed. Around 8.7% of adults in England and Wales aged 16 to 24 had taken a class A drug in the last year, equating to around 550,000 young people, the 2018/2019 Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) shows. This is the highest recording since the 2002/2003 survey and Home Office statisticians said it was a “statistically significant” rise compared with the 2011/2012 survey seven years ago, when a previous decline in class A use reversed and started to climb back up. (See also: Drug use in England and Wales is up for the fourth year in a row | As our cocaine use rises again, hypocritical politicians are wasting a £10bn warchest)
