NCJ Number
171433
Date Published
1997
Length
101 pages
Annotation
The drug self-report component of the 1996 British Crime Survey, completed by 10,940 individuals in England and Wales who were between 16 and 59 years of age, showed recent drug misuse was comparatively rare.
Abstract
Although nearly half of those between 16 and 29 years of age at tried a prohibited drug at some point, last year and last month consumption were much less common. For many individuals, drug misuse simply involved marijuana. More than half of all young people reporting drug misuse within the last month only used marijuana. Hallucinogens such as amphetamines, LSD, magic mushrooms, ecstasy, and poppers were tried by 26 percent of respondents at some point in their lives, by 11 percent in the last year, and by 5 percent in the last month. Consumption of a range of different drugs was relatively rare. Among young people between 16 and 29 years of age, 17 percent had taken three or more different drugs on a lifetime basis. Equivalent figures for last year and last month were 6 percent and 2 percent, respectively. Consumption of heroin and crack cocaine was also rare. Only 1 percent of young people between 16 and 29 years of age said they had ever taken heroin, and a similar proportion admitted to taking crack at some point in their lives. Important differentiating factors in drug misuse included age, gender, drinking and smoking behavior, socioeconomic variables, and lifestyle options. Appendixes provide further information on the survey, supplementary tables, drug use by ethnic groups, and intravenous drug use. 42 references and 32 tables