Estimated Number of Problem Drug Users (PDUs) in Scotland

"National and local estimates of the prevalence of problem drug use in Scotland for 2009/10 were published in autumn 2011 (ISD Scotland 2011). Estimates are for problematic opiate and/or illicit benzodiazepine use119 amongst individuals aged between 15 and 64 years old. Previous estimates have been published for the calendar years 2000, 2003 and 2006 (Hay et al. 2001; 2004; 2009).
"In 2009/10 there were an estimated 59,600120 individuals aged between 15 and 64 with problem drug use in Scotland, an increase from the 2006 (n=55,328) and 2003 (n=51,582) estimates.121 (Hay et al. 2004; 2009). The estimated rate of individuals with problem drug use in 2009/10 was 17.1 per 1,000 population, a non-significant increase from 2006 but lower than the rate in 2003 (Table 4.1)."