The document summarizes several statistics related to drug use in Scotland and the UK: - An estimated 46,657 people in Scotland injected drugs with hepatitis C in 2009, with over 27,000 being undiagnosed. Most undiagnosed cases were non-recent drug users aged 35-64. - In England and Wales in 2014, over 100,000 arrests were for drug offenses, though this was down from the previous year. The majority of stop-and-searches and subsequent arrests involved attempts to find Class A drugs. - Over 1,300 children in Scotland lost a parent to a drug-related death between 2009-2013. Women who died were more likely to live with and care

1. Interesting things you
may have missed
April 2015
Andrew Brown

2. Number of people who inject drugs (PWID) with
hepatitis C in Scotland
The total number of HCV-antibody-prevalent PWID in
Scotland during 2009 was estimated to be 46,657, of which
an estimated 27,434 were undiagnosed.
Of these undiagnosed cases, 83% were non-recent PWID
(i.e. had injected more than a year ago) and 71% were aged
35-64 years.
Source: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/add.12948/abstract;jsessionid=9C86779E07B1F34C07723C4E6B9E0A7B.f01t03

3. Police powers and procedures in England and Wales
In the year ending 31 March 2014
● One in 10 arrests last year were for drug
offences, but there was a big fall in the
number of arrests for drugs: down by 6,865
from 112,229 to 105,364
● 53% of stop and searches under s1 of PACE
were for drugs and 41% of subsequent arrests
● 80% of all intimate body searches (n.73) were
made in an attempt to find Class A drugs, but
only 8% of intimate body searches for Class A
drugs resulted in a positive find
Source:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/p
olice-powers-and-procedures-england-
and-wales-year-ending-31-march-2014

4. Drug Offences in England and Wales
Despite recent decreases, the number of
drug offences recorded in 2014 remains
25% higher than the number recorded in
2003/04.
In 2014, possession of cannabis offences
accounted for 66% of all police recorded
drug offences; this proportion has
remained broadly similar since 2005/06
(between 66% and 70%).Police recorded 178,719 offences
in 2014, a decrease of 11%
compared with the previous
year.
Source: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crime-stats/crime-statistics/year-
ending-december-2014/crime-in-england-and-wales--year-ending-december-
2014.html#tab-Other-crimes-against-society

5. The content of ‘ecstasy’ pills in the UK between 2006
and 2014
Source:
http://www.projectknow.com/discov
er/jagged-little-pill/

6. Treatment for cannabis problems in Europe
“Although many countries in Europe offer
quite effective and comprehensive treatment
programmes for cannabis use disorders, there
is still potential for further improvement…
Collaboration between treatment providers,
general healthcare and the criminal justice
system can help to reach people in need
through referrals... Given the young age and
often limited level of problems experienced by
many cannabis users, Internet-based
interventions are a promising approach which
is already supported by some evidence.” Source:
http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/insights/2
015/treatment-of-cannabis-related-disorders

7. Number of Scottish children losing parent/parental
figure to drug related death
Almost half of females (47%) and a
third of males (32%) who died a drug-
related death in Scotland in 2013 had
children aged under 16.
Female parents (37%) were more
likely to be living with their children
at the time of death than male parents
(12%).
Of those who lived with children at
the time of their death, one in three
(34%) were known to use drugs
intravenously.
1,382 children in Scotland lost a
parent to a drug related death between
2009 and 2013
Source: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Drugs-and-
Alcohol-Misuse/Publications/

8. Medical conditions experienced in the six months prior
to drug related deaths in Scotland (2009-2013)
Source: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Drugs-and-Alcohol-Misuse/Publications/data-tables.asp?id=1386#1386

9. Percentage of Scottish Drug-Related Deaths by mental health
condition experienced in the six months prior to death
Source: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Drugs-and-Alcohol-
Misuse/Publications/data-tables.asp?id=1386#1386

10. Proportion of females who had been a victim of domestic violence
prior to drug related death in Scotland (2013)
In the 2013 cohort, 13% were reported
to have been a victim of domestic
violence at some point prior to death.
Over four-fifths (81%) of those who
suffered domestic violence were female.
Thus, almost half of females (45%) who
died a drug-related death in 2013 had
experienced domestic abuse at some
point in their lives.
The comparable figure for men was 3%
Source: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Drugs-and-
Alcohol-Misuse/Publications/data-tables.asp?id=1386#1386