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SCOTTISH ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON DRUG MISUSE: Psychostimulant Working Group Report
ANNEX A: EXTENT OF THE PROBLEM
STATISTICAL DATA
Table 1: Lifetime and Recent Use (%) of Psycho-stimulants and Cannabis Amongst Scottish Adults
| Cocaine | Crack Cocaine | Amphetamine | Cannabis |
M | F | M | F | M | F | M | F |
16-19 | Ever | 3.8 | 5.1 | 1.0 | 2.9 | 6.7 | 8.1 | 25.2 | 24.3 |
Last 12 mths | 0.0 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 10.6 | 18.4 |
20-24 | Ever | 8.3 | 4.3 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 15.0 | 15.2 | 46.3 | 32.6 |
Last 12 mths | 5.4 | 3.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.4 | 0.0 | 17.6 | 13.0 |
25-29 | Ever | 10.5 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 16.5 | 8.1 | 42.9 | 25.2 |
Last 12 mths | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 15.8 | 8.8 |
16-59 | Ever | 3.7 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 7.6 | 4.9 | 21.5 | 13.4 |
Last 12 mths | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 6.6 | 4.5 |
Source: 2000 Scottish Crime Survey
PROFILE OF 2000/01 COCAINE USERS, SCOTTISH DRUG MISUSE DATABASE
In the year 2000/01 there were 556 individuals who reported use of cocaine (including crack cocaine) to the Scottish Drug Misuse Database. The majority of these (63%) reported the use of cocaine as secondary to use of an opiate as their main drug. A small group (<1%) reported cocaine as their main drug of use with opiates as secondary.
Of the 556 reports to the SDMD, 47 (8%) reported use of cocaine alone. The demographics of this group are markedly different to those who are also using opiates (whether as a primary or secondary drug). The cocaine only group are, with one exception, exclusively male. This group also tends to be more stable with regard to social factors, i.e. employment, accommodation.
The numbers reporting to services for cocaine use alone are extremely small, but it should be borne in mind that this is in spite of the fact there are no psycho-stimulant specific services available in Scotland.
The numbers of individuals reporting any use of cocaine has risen steadily from 2% of all reports in 1996/97 to 5% in 2000/01. It is worth noting that the cocaine only group has increased from 6% in 1996/97 to 8% in 2000/01.
Table 2: Gender of cocaine users, percentage of new individual patients/clients years ending 31 March.
| 1996/97 | 1997/98 | 1998/99 | 1999/00 | 2000/01 |
Any mention of cocaine |
Male | 76.8 | 83.3 | 79.3 | 77.8 | 82.2 |
Female | 23.2 | 16.7 | 20.7 | 22.2 | 17.8 |
Cocaine only |
Male | 80.0 | 86.7 | 84.6 | 86.4 | 97.9 |
Female | 20.0 | 13.3 | 15.4 | 13.6 | 2.1 |
Cocaine as main drug and opiate as secondary |
Male | 80.0 | 100.0 | 92.3 | 72.2 | 90.5 |
Female | 20.0 | 0.0 | 7.7 | 27.8 | 9.5 |
Opiate as main drug and cocaine as secondary |
Male | 83.1 | 84.8 | 78.3 | 76.5 | 79.4 |
Female | 16.9 | 15.2 | 21.7 | 23.5 | 20.6 |
Source: Scottish Drug Misuse Database unpublished dataN.B. Please note that all figures exclude reports from needle exchanges and penal establishment inmates and that for these analyses cannabis has not been regarded as a drug of misuse.Table 3: Living situation of cocaine users, percentage of new individual patients/clients year ending 31 March 2001
| Any mention of cocaine | Cocaine only | Cocaine as a main drug and opiate as secondary | Opiate as main drug and cocaine as secondary |
Total | 556 | 47 | 21 | 349 |
Lives alone | 21.9 | 8.5 | 33.3 | 20.1 |
Lives with parents | 29.7 | 25.5 | 28.6 | 28.9 |
Lives with spouse/partner | 27.3 | 53.2 | 28.6 | 25.8 |
Lives with spouse/partner and parents | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 |
Lives with other persons | 8.3 | 4.3 | 0.0 | 10.0 |
Lives in residential rehabilitation | 4.3 | 0.0 | 4.8 | 6.3 |
No fixed abode | 3.4 | 0.0 | 4.8 | 4.0 |
Other | 2.5 | 2.1 | 0.0 | 2.9 |
Information unavailable | 2.2 | 6.4 | 0.0 | 1.4 |
Source: Scottish Drug Misuse Database unpublished dataN.B. Please note that all figures exclude reports from needle exchanges and penal establishment inmates and that for these analyses cannabis has not been regarded as a drug of misuse.Table 4: Employment status of cocaine users, percentage of new individual patients/clients year ending 31 March 2001
| Any mention of cocaine | Cocaine only | Cocaine as a main drug and opiate as secondary | Opiate as main drug and cocaine as secondary |
Total | 556 | 47 | 21 | 349 |
Never employed | 12.4 | 2.1 | 9.5 | 15.8 |
Unemployed (1 year or longer) | 44.2 | 19.1 | 47.6 | 54.2 |
Unemployed (less than a year) | 16.5 | 21.3 | 14.3 | 14.3 |
Employed (includes self employed) | 21.4 | 51.1 | 23.8 | 11.5 |
Student | 1.6 | 2.1 | 0.0 | 0.9 |
Housewife/husband | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Invalidity | 0.9 | 0.0 | 4.8 | 0.9 |
Did not wish to answer | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 |
Other | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
Information unavailable | 2.0 | 4.3 | 0.0 | 1.7 |
Source: Scottish Drug Misuse Database unpublished dataN.B. Please note that all figures exclude reports from needle exchanges and penal establishment inmates and that for these analyses cannabis has not been regarded as a drug of misuse.DATA ABOUT SEIZURES
Source: Unpublished report by the scottish Drug Enforcement Agency and the National Criminal Intelligence Service: The Impact of Cocaine and Crack Cocaine , 2002Table 5: Cocaine Seizure Table
| 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 |
Grams | Value
() | Grams | Value
() | Grams | Value
() | Grams | Value
() | Grams | Value
() | Grams | Value
() |
Central | 2 | 100 | 13 | 630 | 11 | 550 | 47 | 2,350 | 107 | 5,350 | 59 | 2,950 |
Dumfries & Galloway | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | 252 | 20,000 | 410 | 24,000 |
Fife | 6 | 609 | 65 | 6,520 | 102 | 10,200 | 2 | 200 | 1,485 | 132,730 | 366 | 34,420 |
Grampian (Cocaine) | 209 | 17,880
-
23,840 | 269 | 23,040
-
30,720 | 150 | 12,840
-
17,120 | 313 | 26,820
-
35,720 | 679 | 58,200
-
77,600 | 3,767 | 262,500 |
Grampian (Crack) | - | | 44 | 11,000 | 317 | 79,250 | 469 | 117,250 | 154 | 38,500 | 887 | 221,750 |
Lothian and Borders | 19 seizures ** | | 47 | 3,720 | 880 | 70,360 | 221 | 13,260 | 5,877 | 352,590 | 734 | 29,360
-
44,040 |
Northern (Cocaine) *** | ^ | 2,000 | ^ + 4 ounces | 10,960 | ^ | 2,000 | ^ | 2,000 | 33 | 2,000 | 43 | 5,425 |
Northern (Crack)*** | | | | | | | | | | | 16 | |
Strathclyde | | | | | 13,857 | | 6,339 | 507,120 | 14,249 | 1,139,920 | 8,749 | 437,448 |
Tayside | 7 | 436 | 28 | 1,709 | 130 | 7,808 | 108 | 6,476 | 1,020 | 61,226 | 1,191
~~ | 71,491 |
~Very minimal amounts of a few grams seized
**Specific weight unavailable
***Northern has not compiled records of cocaine seizures prior to 2000 other than through Home Office Crimesec Forms which are now archived, therefore, seizure figures are approximates
^ Minimal seizures ie. less than 25g
****Parameters differ for Strathclyde:13,857.62g (Oct 1998 - March 1999); 6,339.14g (Apr 1999 - March 2000); 14,248.7g (Apr 2000 - March 2001) 8,748.97g (April 2001 - Sept 2001)
~~ As at 04/11/01 for Tayside
Source: Unpublished report by the scottish Drug Enforcement Agency and the National Criminal Intelligence Service: The Impact of Cocaine and Crack Cocaine , 2002
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