Background notes

Declassification of cannabis
The decision to downgrade the drug from class B to Class C, placing it alongside steroids and some prescription anti-depressants, was made by the former Home Secretary David Blunkett. It made most cases of cannabis possession a non-arrestable offence. It was downgraded in January 2004. The current Home Secretary Charles Clarke is proposing a rethink of the classification of cannabis after studies suggest that it may be linked to mental illness.

• 21% of 11–15 year olds have used drugs in the last year, most commonly cannabis.
• As with alcohol, cannabis use increases with age from 1% of 11 year olds to 31% of 15 year olds.
• 1% of 11–15 year olds have used heroin and the same proportion have used cocaine. In total 4% have used a Class A drug of some kind.
• 28% of 16–24 year olds have used drugs, primarily cannabis.
• 8% of 16–24 year olds have used Class A drugs.
• The prevalence of drug-use was higher among boys than girls.
• In 2000, 15 per cent of boys aged 11 to 15 years used drugs in the last year compared with 13 per cent of girls.
• In 2000, 31 per cent of males aged 16 to 19 years used drugs in the last year compared with 24 per cent of females in the same age group.
• Cannabis was the most widely used drug among 11 to 19 year olds.
• In 2000, of those aged 11 to 15 years in England, 12 per cent were using cannabis.
• In England and Wales, 25 per cent of those aged 16 to 19 years were using cannabis.
• The prevalence of using cannabis and Class A drugs increased with age.

In the UK there are estimated to be between 250,000 and 350,000 dependant children living with parental drug misuse, and 920,000 living with parental alcohol misuse. Parental substance misuse can cause considerable harm. Children are at risk from emotional and physical neglect as they grow up.

The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) monitor the use of drugs. Their annual report estimates that one in five 15 year olds across the EU has tried cannabis, which increases to a quarter of those in their 20s. In England and Wales, Ireland, Denmark and Spain up to 40 per cent of those aged between 16 and 34 admit to having used cannabis. One in five teenagers in England and Wales is thought to have sniffed solvents, which have moved to second place in the table of most abused substances.

EMCDDA estimates that, out of a total population of 375 million, fewer than 1.5 million can be classified as problem drug users, but abuse is spreading and is highest in Britain, Italy and Luxembourg. In Europe about 20 people a day die from drug abuse.