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CHAPTER THREE THE EXPERIENCE OF DRUG USERS
3.1 Those who reported ever having used one or more drugs were asked a number of follow-up questions about their drug taking. These questions included age at which they first tried any drugs, and for recent drug users, questions about their drug use in the last month, including frequency of use, ease of obtaining drugs, and polydrug use.
First experiences of drug taking
3.2 All respondents who reported they had ever tried one or more drug were asked what specific drug they first took and at what age they first took this drug. From this it is possible to examine at what age respondents who had ever taken drugs first took any drugs. However, it is not possible to identify the age at which people who had taken several drugs first took each different type of drug since they were only asked about the first drug taken. Thus, for example, if a person had taken cannabis (first) and then cocaine in their lifetime, information was collected about the age they first used cannabis, but not about the age they first used cocaine.
3.3 Figure 3.1 shows the age at which respondents who had ever taken drugs first tried any drugs. About a quarter of lifetime drug users (26%) first tried drugs when they were less than 16. However, 16-19 was the most common age range for first trying any drugs, with half of lifetime drug users (50%) having first tried drugs at this age.
3.4 There was a noticeable difference between respondents who had ever taken Class A drugs and those who had not taken Class A drugs in terms of the age they first took any drug. While 37 per cent of those who had ever taken any Class A drugs reported that they had first tried drugs (not necessarily Class A drugs) before the age of 16, only 16 per cent of those who had never taken Class A drugs reported they had taken any drugs before the age of 16 (Figure 3.1).
Figure 3.1 Age at which those who reported ever having taken drugs first tried any type of drug
Source: 2006 SCVS
Bases: All who have ever taken drugs (n=1,121); ever taken Class A drugs (n=604); never taken Class A drugs (n=517)
3.5 As has already been seen in Chapter 2, cannabis was by far the most frequently used drug amongst lifetime drug users. In fact, 90 per cent of those who had ever taken one or more drug had taken cannabis, while more than a third of lifetime drug users (35%) reported having only ever taken cannabis and no other drugs.
3.6 It is not surprising, therefore, that cannabis was the drug that respondents were most likely to have tried first. In fact, cannabis was the first drug tried by over three-quarters of lifetime drug users (76%). Amphetamines were the second most common drug to have been tried first by lifetime drug users (6%), followed by glues and solvents (4%), and poppers (4%).
3.7 Since lifetime drug users who have only ever taken one drug must, by definition, have taken that drug first, it is useful to look at the first drug taken broken down by the total number of different drugs ever taken.
3.8 Figure 3.2 shows the first type of drug ever taken by lifetime drug users by the total number of different drugs they had ever taken. Even amongst those who had taken several different drugs, cannabis was the most common drug to have been tried first. Thus, 69 per cent of those who had ever taken 2 drugs had tried cannabis first, while 64 per cent of those who had taken 4 or more drugs had also tried cannabis first. Amphetamines and glues and solvents were more likely to have been the first drug tried by those who had ever taken more than one drug compared with those who had taken only one drug. Thus, for example, 8 per cent of those who had ever tried 4 or more drugs had taken glue or solvents as their first drug compared with only 1 per cent for who glues and solvents was the only drug they had ever taken.
3.9 Although cocaine was the second most common drug taken in both the last year and the last month (see Chapter 2), less than 0.5 per cent of lifetime drug users had tried this first, and this was the case even amongst those who had tried 4 or more drugs.
Figure 3.2 First type of drug ever taken by total number of drugs ever taken
Source: 2006 SCVS
Bases: All who had ever tried one drug (n=482); two drugs (n=201); three drugs (n=133); four or more drugs (n=322)
3.10 Tables A16 and A17 show the relationship between the age at which respondents first took drugs and the type of drug they first took. Cannabis was by far the most common drug first taken by both men and women regardless of the age when they first took a drug. Again this is not surprising given what has already been seen about the predominance of cannabis both in terms of the proportion of lifetime drug users who have ever used cannabis and in terms of the proportion of lifetime drug users who have only ever taken cannabis and no other drugs. However, there were some other interesting differences in terms of the relationship between age first tried drugs and type of drug first used.
3.11 Respondents who were under 16 when they first tried any drug were considerably more likely to have tried glues and solvents than those who first took drugs when they were older. This was true of both men and women. Thirteen per cent of those who first took any drug when they were aged under 16 used glue or solvents as their first drug, compared with just 1 per cent of those who first used drugs when aged 16-19, and none of those who first took drugs after the age of 20. This perhaps reflects the lower cost and easier availability of such products for the younger age group.
3.12 Women were more likely than men to have taken amphetamines as their first drug. Overall, 9 per cent of female drug users took amphetamines as their first drug compared with 4 per cent of male drug users. This was particularly the case for those who first took a drug when they were under 16. Amongst this group 9 per cent of women took amphetamines as their first drug compared with just 2 per cent of men.
3.13 Men who had ever taken drugs were more likely than women to have taken LSD, magic mushrooms and ecstasy as their first drug. Very few women who first took drugs when aged under 16 used LSD as their first drug (less than 0.5%) but this was the first drug taken by 5 per cent of men.
Regularity of drug use in the last month
3.14 Those who reported that they had taken a drug within the last month were asked which drug they had taken most often in the last month and, for that drug, how often they had used it during this time. Since the number of respondents who had taken one or more drugs in the last month was relatively small (n=279) the degree of sub-group analysis that can be done is limited.
3.15 Not surprisingly, cannabis was the most frequently taken drug, with 81 per cent of those who had taken any drugs in the last month saying they had taken this most often during the period. Cocaine (5%) and ecstasy (4%) were the next most frequently taken drugs in the last month.
3.16 Over 6 in 10 respondents (62%) who had taken drugs in the last month had taken only one type of drug during this period, while 20 per cent had taken 2 different types of drugs and a similar proportion (18%) had taken 3 or more types of drugs.
3.17 Just under half of all those who had used drugs in the last month (47%) had taken their most frequently used drug on at least a weekly basis, with a fifth (21%) having done so every day or almost every day. The remaining 53 per cent of users had taken their most frequently used drug only once or twice in the previous month. Men were more likely than women to have taken drugs on at least a weekly basis in the last month (53% and 37% respectively). Over half of respondents aged over 25 (51%) who had taken drugs in the last month had done so on at least a weekly basis compared with 44 per cent of 16-24 year olds. However, this difference was not statistically significant due to small base sizes.
3.18 These results suggest that current drug users, were using drugs less frequently than was reported by the 2004 survey, when 81 per cent were using drugs on at least a weekly basis and 34 per cent were using them every day or almost every day.
Ease of obtaining drugs
3.19 Those who reported taking any drugs in the last month were asked how difficult it was for them to get hold of whichever drug they used most often which, as already mentioned, was cannabis in the majority of cases. Eight in 10 respondents (80%) reported finding it easy to acquire their drug, with 38 per cent saying it was 'very easy' and 42 per cent saying it was 'fairly easy' to do so. While the majority of current users did not encounter difficulty, it appears that since the 2004 SCVS it has become more difficult to acquire drugs. In 2004, over 9 in 10 respondents found it easy to acquire their most regularly used drug, with 68 per cent saying it was 'very easy' and 27 per cent saying it was 'fairly easy' to do so. By contrast, in 2006, 7 per cent of respondents said it was 'very difficult' to acquire drugs whereas in 2004 nobody reported this to be the case.
Polydrug use and mixing drugs with alcohol
3.20 Polydrug use is the use of more than one drug at the same time, often with the intention of enhancing or countering the effect of another drug. An example of polydrug use is using heroin and cocaine together, a combination known as 'speedball'. Polydrug use is not the same as multiple drug use, where users may be taking more than one type of drug over a particular period.
3.21 All respondents who had taken one or more drugs in the last month were asked if they had taken another drug while they were under the influence of the drug they had used most often during this time. Almost 4 in 10 respondents (38%) who had taken drugs in the last month admitted that they had done this, with men being significantly more likely than women to have done so (42% compared with 30%).
3.22 Respondents who had taken drugs in the last month were also asked whether they had consumed alcohol whilst under the influence of the drug they had taken most often in the previous month. This was very common, with 80 per cent admitting to having consumed alcohol while under the influence of drugs. There was no significant difference between men and women in terms of mixing drugs and alcohol.
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