NCJ Number
176405
Date Published
1997
Length
60 pages
Annotation
The number of drug addicts notified to the Home Office in 1996 increased by 17 percent to 43,400; new drug addict notifications rose by 24 percent to 18,300, a greater rate of increase than in 1995, and the number of new drug addicts under 21 years of age rose by 35 percent.
Abstract
In 1995, there was a further increase in notifications of drug adduction to methadone which was reported in 43 percent of notifications. Notifications of drug addiction to cocaine rose but still accounted for less than 10 percent of reports. As in all years since 1991, more new drug addicts were notified by hospitals and treatment centers than by general medical practitioners. The number of drug addicts notified by Prison Medical Officers rose by 36 percent between 1995 and 1996. The proportion of all drug addicts injecting remained at 51 percent in 1996. Within this figure, the proportion of new drug addicts injecting drugs fell slightly to 47 percent, but the number of new drug addicts injecting rose significantly by 1,500 to 7,900. About 1,800 drug-related deaths were registered in 1995, a rise of 9 percent over 1994 but half the rate of increase in the previous year. 9 notes, 29 tables, and 10 figures