Themes - Illicit drug use in Scotland |
This section explores the main drugs currently used across Scotland, drawing together information from contact with specialist drug treatment services, hospital services, drug seizures and drug-related deaths.
Patterns of drug use vary with age. Information specific to the types of drugs taken by children is presented separately in 'The early years'.
Opiates continue to be the most common drug type used illicitly by those reported to the Scottish Drugs Misuse Database (SDMD) as entering drug treatment services. Of the 10 311 new clients attending such services in 2002/03, who reported illicit drug use in the past month, more than four out of five had taken opiates (Table B1.13). The three main forms of opiates used illicitly were heroin (76%), dihydrocodeine (12%) and methadone (8%). A rise in reported heroin use has been seen over the last five years (69% in 1998/99 to 76% in 2002/03). By contrast, the use of dihydrocodeine and methadone has fallen (Table B1.10, Chart 1).
Chart 1 Reported use of heroin and illicit use of methadone & dihydrocodeine : 1998/99 - 2002/03
Source : Table B1.10 (SDMD)
Similarly, for hospital discharges involving a diagnosis of drugs
misuse, the drug type most often identified was opiates. Half of the 4 840 drug-related
discharges from acute general hospitals, and nearly a third of the 1 768 drug-related
psychiatric hospital discharges specifically mentioned opiates (Tables A1.2
& A2.5).
In May 2003, two-thirds of tests carried out at reception into prison from courts were positive for the use of drugs. In a quarter of all the tests administered opiates were found to be present (Table E3.1)
The majority (64%) of class A drug seizures within the community
involved heroin. Indeed, the only other drug seized more frequently (including
all classes of drug) was cannabis. Over the period 1998-2001, seizures of heroin
increased in both number and quantity (Table E2.3).
In 2002, heroin/morphine was found in two-thirds of the 382 drug-related deaths, a sizeable increase since 1998 when just under a half of deaths involved these drugs. Methadone was the third most commonly identified drug, being found in a quarter of drug-related deaths (Table A6.5, Chart 2).
Chart 2 Drug-related deaths involving heroin/morphine and methadone : 1998 - 2002
Source : Table A6.5 (GRO Scotland)
In recent years, diazepam and temazepam were the two main benzodiazepines
reported as having been used illicitly by those entering drug treatment services.
During 2002/03, more than one in three new clients reported the illicit use
of diazepam, making it the second most common drug after heroin. The proportion
of new clients reporting the use of diazepam has remained broadly similar over
the past five years. In contrast, reports of temazepam use have fallen from
14 per cent in 1998/99 to just 4 per cent in 2002/03, perhaps reflecting the
withdrawal of the gel capsule formulation (Table
B1.10, Chart 3).
Chart 3 Reported illicit use of diazepam and temazepam : 1998/99 - 2002/03
Source : Table B1.10 (SDMD)
A broadly similar pattern was seen in drug-related deaths. Diazepam was found in over half of all deaths in 2002 (again only heroin was more common), an increase from 45 per cent to 56 per cent over the last five years. The number of deaths involving temazepam has declined considerably, with less than five per cent now involving this drug compared to nearly a quarter in 1998 (Table A6.5, Chart 4).
Chart 4 Drug-related deaths involving diazepam and temazepam : 1998 - 2002
Source : Table A6.5 (GRO Scotland)
Cocaine and crack cocaine
The number of cocaine and crack cocaine users who come into contact with drug treatment services, or who present at health services with problems attributable to cocaine use, remains low in comparison with heroin. In 2002/03, 739 new clients attending a drug treatment service reported taking cocaine, and 308 taking crack cocaine. Steady increases in the use of these drugs have, however, been seen over the past five years. The SDMD reveals that the percentage of individuals reporting use of cocaine has increased from 2 per cent in 1998/99 to 7 per cent in 2002/03. The use of crack cocaine has increased from 1 per cent to 3 per cent (Table B1.10). The number of discharges from an acute hospital involving cocaine more than doubled from 41 (1%) to 118 (2%) (Table A1.3), and drug-related deaths where cocaine was found to be present rose from 4 (2%) in 1998 to 31 (8%) in 2002 (Table A6.5).
In 2001, one in ten seizures of class A drugs involved cocaine, whereas crack cocaine was found in only 51 (1%) cases. The number of cocaine seizures more than doubled between 1998 and 2001, although the quantity recovered actually fell. Seizures of crack cocaine increased in both number and quantity (Table E2.3).
Ecstasy
Reported use of ecstasy among new people entering drug treatment services has remained broadly constant at around five per cent over recent years (434 individuals in 2002/03, Table B1.10). Statistics are not available regarding discharges from general acute hospitals with a diagnosis relating to the misuse of ecstasy. However, the number of discharges involving stimulants other than cocaine (of which ecstasy is one) has fallen slightly from 264 (7%) to 240 (5%) between 1998/9 and 2002/03 (Table A1.3). Over a similar period, drug-related deaths where ecstasy was found to be present rose from 3 (1%) in 1999 to 20 (5%) in 2002 (Table A6.5).
Ecstasy was recovered in over a quarter of seizures involving class A drugs, making it the second most common drug (after heroin) to be seized in this class. The number of seizures nearly trebled between 1998 and 2001, and even larger increases (6-fold) were seen in the quantity of tablets recovered (Table E2.3).
Use of other drugs with opiates
Among those who take opiates, use of other drugs is also common. In 2002/03, over a third of new individuals coming into contact with drug treatment services reported the illicit use of diazepam, as well as opiates, in the past month. This does not imply that both drugs were necessarily taken at the same time. The main other drug reported by opiate users was cannabis (23%) (Table B1.13, Chart 5).
Chart 5 Drugs used in combination with opiates : 2002/03
Source : Table B1.13 (SDMD)
