Released 20 July 2023 Crime statistics are produced by multiple departments across government. The aim of this guide is to collate the main sources of crime statistics, broken down by potential areas of interest, to provide a more efficient way to find the crime statistics needed. In the year ending March 2023, an estimated 2.3% of people aged 16 to 59 years were frequent drug users (approximately 770,000), similar to the year ending March 2020 (2.1%).
Help us improve our website
In the short-term, a young person’s mood might change while they’re drinking or taking drugs. Mixing drugs, including controlled drugs and NPS increases the risks to your health even more. Your GP is an essential first point of contact if you’re concerned about medication dependence. They can refer you to local support services, provide advice on tapering these medications or consider alternative treatment options, and support you in managing your condition. Controlled drugs are classed according to their relative degree of overall harm from misuse. The class of drug a person is caught possessing, supplying or producing affects the severity of the offence.
Figure 5: Younger people were more likely to have taken a drug in the last year than older people
This was a 48% and 54% decrease compared with the year ending March 2020, respectively. Drugs education is provided in the curriculum which is taught to all pupils of compulsory school age in grant-aided schools. In primary schools, pupils have opportunities to learn about keeping themselves healthy and safe through the Personal Health element of the Personal Development and Mutual Understanding area of learning. It is a statutory requirement for every grant-aided school to have in place a drugs education policy. Drug detox, therapy, structure and aftercare all play a part in creating an environment where lasting change becomes possible.
These changes can also be part of growing up and a young person who is not using drugs could show the same changes. We make no guarantees that the information within them is accurate or up to date. Please get professional healthcare advice before taking any action. 2U.K.Any stereoisomeric form of a substance for the time being specified in paragraph 1 of this Part of this Schedule. 2U.K.Any stereoisomeric form of a substance for the time being specified in paragraph 1 above not being dextromethorphan or dextrorphan. Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date.
- We want to get drugs under government control and out of the hands of organised crime.
- There are a number of different criminal offences which restrict the supply and use of harmful substances.
- We make no guarantees that the information within them is accurate or up to date.
- While we take care to ensure that the organisations we signpost to provide high quality information and advice, we cannot take responsibility for any specific pieces of advice they may offer.
If the offence is supply or production, the temporary class drug will usually be treated like a class B drug. The level of drug misuse reported by adults in the last year varied across several measures of personal well-being (see Glossary for definition). Individuals who reported lower personal well-being across measures of satisfaction with life, drugs feeling that things you do in your life are worthwhile and happiness, were more likely to have used an illicit drug in the last year (Figure 7). Regulation 27 of The Misuse of Drugs Regulation (Northern Ireland) 2002 requires the presence of an authorised person to witness the destruction of the controlled drugs in Schedules 1 to 4 held under a licence issued by the Department.
Safe custody of controlled drugs is required by the Misuse of Drugs (Safe Custody) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 1973 (see also general guidance for controlled drug suppliers). Section 10 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 gives the Secretary of State power to make regulations to prevent the misuse of controlled drugs. Individuals and Bodies Corporate not covered by the provisions of The Misuse of Drugs Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002 must be licensed by the DoH to lawfully produce, supply or possess controlled drugs. Please refer to the list of controlled drugs to identify your licence requirements.