Scotland

"• There has been a statistically significant decline in self-reported illicit drug use between the SCJS 2008/09 and 2014/15 across all three reporting time periods (in the last month, in the last year, and ever). The percentage of adults reporting taking one or more illicit drugs in the last year decreased from 7.6% to 6.0% of adults between 2008/09 and 2014/15.

"• Reported drug use has fallen for both females and males between 2008/09 and 2014/15, with a decrease in reported illicit drug use in the last year from 11.1% in
comparison to 8.9% amongst men, and a decrease from 4.3% to 3.4% amongst women.

"• In 2014/15, 2.6% of adults reported use of Class A drugs, 5.2% reported use of Class B drugs and 0.5% reported use of Class C drugs in the last year. There has been a statistically significant decline in reported use in the last year of Class A (-0.9 percentage points), Class B (-1.2 percentage points) and Class C (-0.8 percentage points) drugs between 2008/09 and 2014/15. There has also been a statistically significant decline in the use of Class C drugs between the SCJS 2012/13 and 2014/15 (-0.5 percentage points).

"• Looking at drug use by composite group, 2.8% of adults reported use of stimulants, 0.5% reported use of downers/tranquilisers, 0.5% reported use of psychedelics and 0.2% reported use of opiates in the last year.

"• There has also been a statistically significant decline in reported use in the last year of composite groups stimulants (-1.1 percentage points) and downers/tranquilisers (-0.7 percentage points) between 2008/09 and 2014/15.

"• As in the SCJS 2012/13, cannabis is the most commonly used drug with 5.0% of adults reporting use in the last year, however this has fallen from 6.2% in the 2008/09 survey."

"Comparisons with the previous four sweeps of the SCJS [Scottish Crime and Justice Survey] help to put these findings in context and reveals that the percentage of adults reporting using one or more illicit drugs has been declining. Table 2.1 and Figure 2.1 show this decline in the number of adults reporting illicit drug use for all three time periods used in the survey between the SCJS 2008/09 and the SCJS 2014/1510. The decline was significant comparing drug use reported in the 2008/09 survey with that reported in 2014/15. However, there were no statistically significant changes in these results between 2012/13 and 2014/15. In the SCJS 2014/15:

"• 3.3% of adults reported having used one or more illicit drugs in the last month (the month prior to the survey interview). This is compared with 4.4% in 2008/09, 4.2% in 2009/10; 3.5% in 2010/11; and, 3.3% in 2012/13.

"• 6.0% of adults reported having used one or more illicit drug in the last year. This is compared with 7.6% in 2008/09, 7.2% in 2009/10; 6.6% in 2010/11; and, 6.2% in 2012/13.

"• 22.1% of adults reported taking one of more illicit drug at some point in their lives (ever). This is compared with 25.6% in 2008/09, 25.2% in 2009/10; 23.7% in 2010/11; and, 23.0% in 2012/13."

"Looking in more detail at self-reported drug use by composite drug group, i.e. classifying them by shared characteristics, Figure 2.2 shows that:
"• One in eight (12.5%) adults reported that they had taken stimulant drugs (cocaine, crack, crystal meth, ecstasy, amphetamines, poppers) at some point in their lives while 2.8% had taken at least one of these drugs in the last year and 1.2% in the last month;
"• Around one in thirteen (7.5%) adults reported use of psychedelic substances (including LSD, magic mushrooms or ketamine), at some point in their lives. Less than 1% of adults aged 16 or over reported using a drug from this composite drug group either in the last year or the last month (0.6% and 0.2% respectively);
"• Just under one in twenty one (4.6%) adults reported ever using downers or tranquilisers (temazepam or valium), with 1.1% having used either of these in the last year and 0.4% in the last month;
"• Use of opiates (heroin and methadone) was lower. 1.0% of adults reported taking either of these drugs at some point in their lives, and less than 0.5% had taken opiates either in the last year or the last month (0.3% and 0.2% respectively).¹³"

"Cannabis was by far the most common drug – particularly among 15 year olds. Ten per cent of 15 year olds and 2% of 13 year olds reported that they had used cannabis in the last month. Very few pupils reported using any other drug.
"Due to increased awareness of ‘new’ substances and synthetic drugs, five drugs were added to the 2010 survey (mephedrone, BZP, ketamine, spice and ‘GBL or GBH’). All else being equal, we might expect this change to the questionnaire to increase prevalence rates (because in previous surveys not everyone would have included these drugs in the ‘other’ category). However, the results indicate that use of these drugs is not that common and, despite their inclusion, estimates of prevalence are stable among boys and decreasing among girls. This suggests that they are having little impact on overall levels of drug use."

Click here for complete data table.

"Data from Scotland show that there has been a large increase in recorded cultivation offences since 2006/07 from 437 to 1,242 in 2011/12 (Scottish Government 2012a). This corresponds to an increase in the number of cannabis plant seizures from 304 in 2006/07 to 970 in 2010/11, the last available year of data (Scottish Government 2008e; 2012d; see section 10.3.1). Analysis carried out by the Association for Chief Police Officers (ACPO) suggest that there were 14,982 cannabis production offences in the UK in 2010/11 (ACPO 2012; see section 10.3.3)."

Problem Drug Use and Its Correlates

"• The estimated number of individuals with problem drug use in Scotland in 2009/10, aged 15 to 64 years old, was 59,600 (95% CI = 58,300 - 61,000). This represents an increase in estimated numbers of over 4,000 (in 2006 there were estimated to be 55,300 individuals with problem drug use (95% CI = 54,500 – 57,200)) since 2006 (Table 1 and Table 7).
"• The prevalence rate of problem drug use in Scotland in 2009/10 amongst individuals aged between 15 and 64 years was estimated to be 1.71% (95% CI = 1.67% – 1.75%). This figure was estimated to be 1.62% (95% CI 1.59% - 1.67%) in 2006 (Table 1 and Table 7). Although the estimate of problem drug use prevalence was higher in 2009/10 compared to 2006, it cannot be said conclusively that actual prevalence has increased. However, we can be reasonably sure that actual problem drug use prevalence has not declined since 2006.
"• Around 71% of individuals aged between 15 and 64 years old with problem drug use in mainland Scotland in 2009/10 were male. The estimated prevalence rate of problem drug use for males was 2.49% compared to 1.00% for females (Table 2).
"• There are apparent decreases in the estimated prevalence rate in both the 15 to 24 and 25 to 34 year old age groups (from 1.75% in 2006 to 1.63% in 2009/10 for 15 to 24 year olds and from 3.90% in 2006 to 3.60% in 2009/10 for 25 to 34 year olds. However, for the 35 to 64 years old age group the estimated prevalence rate appears to have increased from 0.89% in 2006 to 1.18% in 2009/10 (Table 8)."

"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)."

"• The estimated prevalence of problem drug use amongst 15 to 64 year olds in Scotland has increased from 1.62% (95% CI = 1.59% - 1.67%) in 2006 to 1.71% (95% CI = 1.67% - 1.75%) in 2009/10. Although the estimate of problem drug use prevalence was higher in 2009/10 compared to 2006, it cannot be said conclusively that actual prevalence has increased. This is due to the fact that the confidence limits shown are very close and do not take into account potential data and methodological differences between the years being compared. However, we can be reasonably sure that actual problem drug use prevalence has not declined since 2006 (Table 7).
"• Looking at the change between 2006 and 2009/10 by age group there are apparent decreases in the estimated prevalence rate in both the 15 to 24 and 25 to 34 year old age groups (from 1.75% in 2006 to 1.63% in 2009/10 for 15 to 24 year olds and from 3.90% in 2006 to 3.60% in 2009/10 for 25 to 34 year olds. However, for the 35 to 64 years old age group the estimated prevalence rate appears to have increased from 0.89% in 2006 to 1.18% in 2009/10 (Table 8). This pattern seems to be reflected in data sources such as Scottish Drug Misuse Database (SDMD), hospital discharges and drug related deaths which have seen increases in older age groups and decreases in younger age groups. The percentage of new patients/clients attending drug treatment services on the SDMD aged 35 and over increased from 30% in 2006/7 to 35% in 2009/10 (Drug Misuse Statistics Scotland 2010, Table A1.3). The number of known individuals with problem drug use in treatment in 2009/10 as a percentage of the estimated prevalence of problem drug misuse is virtually unchanged from 2006 at 42%."

Treatment

"8,611 alcohol treatments were started in Scotland in October-December 2013 (Table 7).
"• Structured preparatory and motivational intervention was the most frequently accessed alcohol treatment (4,346 treatments between October-December 2013).
"• Community based support and/or rehabilitation was also a common alcohol treatment with 3,438 treatments started in October-December 2013.
"5,104 drug treatments were started in Scotland in October-December 2013 (Table 7).
"• Structured preparatory and motivational intervention was the most frequently accessed drug treatment (2,186 treatments between October-December 2013).
"#&149; Community based support and/ or rehabilitation was also a common drug treatment with 1,842 treatments started in October-December 2013."

"Alcohol Treatment Waiting Times
"In October-December 2013, 97.2% of the 7,412 people who began alcohol treatment waited 3 weeks or less from the date of referral (Table 3).
"• 90% of people who started treatment in October-December 2013 waited 17 days or less (Table 1).
"• In all NHS Boards in Scotland, except NHS Highland, at least 90% of people who started alcohol treatment waited 3 weeks or less (Table 3).
"Of the 1,532 people in Scotland still waiting to start alcohol treatment at end of December 2013:
"• Approximately 1.8% (27 people) had waited more than 6 weeks (Table 6).
"• In all NHS Boards in Scotland, at least 90% of people with ongoing waits for alcohol treatment had been waiting 6 weeks or less (Table 6).
"Drug Treatment Waiting Times
"In October-December 2013, of the 4,152 people who began drug treatment, 94.6% waited 3 weeks or less (Table 3).
"• 90% of people who started treatment in October-December 2013 waited 18 days or less. (Table 1).
"• In all NHS Boards in Scotland, except NHS Highland, at least 90% of people starting drug treatment waited 3 weeks or less (Table 3).
"Of the 996 people who were still waiting to start drug treatment at the end of December 2013:
"• Approximately 4.3% (43 people) had waited more than 6 weeks (Table 6).
"• In all NHS Boards in Scotland, except NHS Tayside, at least 90% of people with ongoing waits for drug treatment had been waiting 6 weeks or less (Table 6)."

"• In October-December 2013, of the 1,192 people who started their first drug or alcohol treatment, 97.5% had waited 3 weeks or less and 78.2% had waited one week or less (Table 1).
"• Of the 27 people who were still waiting to start drug or alcohol treatment at the end of December 2013, 1 person, or 3.7% had been waiting for more than 6 weeks (Table 2).
"• 97.8% of the 269 people who started treatment for alcohol use between October and December 2013 had waited 3 weeks or less (Table 1).
"• 97.4% of the 923 people who started treatment for drug use waited 3 weeks or less (Table 1)."

Harm Reduction

"A total of 269 Injecting Equipment Provision (IEP) outlets responded to the 2010/11 survey. This was an increase from 255 for the 2009/10 survey.
"Approximately 234,000 contacts were reported across IEP outlets in Scotland in 2010/11. This was a decrease of 11% from approximately 263,000 contacts in 2009/10.
"There are, however, a number of factors that are likely to have contributed to this drop in reported contacts. Amongst these are a reduction in the percentage of IEP outlets reporting that their service limits the number of needles/syringes distributed in a single transaction and an increased provision of supplies for the purposes of secondary distribution both in line with national guidelines.
"Where gender of the client was reported, 78% of contacts were made by males. A total of 4.51 million needles/syringes were reported to have been distributed in 2010/11. This was a decrease of 3.7% from 2009/10, when 4.68 million needles/syringes were distributed. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde reported the highest number of needles/syringes distributed (1.27 million).
"In terms of injecting paraphernalia distribution, there have been increases in, in particular, the numbers of filters and spoons reported to have been distributed by services from the 2008/09 to 2010/11 surveys. Whilst an increase in the number of services reporting this information goes some way to explaining the rise, the size of the increase points to an ’actual’ rise in the numbers of items distributed.
"The majority of IEP outlets have policies that follow the national guidelines for services providing injecting equipment in respect of both secondary distribution (96%) and the return of used needles/syringes (99%)."

"The ‘take-home’ naloxone kits issued in the community may be issued to either: the person at risk of opioid overdose, to family/friends (with the recorded consent of the person at risk) or to a service worker. Figure 1.5 shows, for the total 2,730 kits issued in the community in Scotland in 2011/12, who received the kit. The majority of kits (2,370 or 87% of the total) were issued to persons at risk, 295 (11%) to a service worker, 60 (2%) to family/friends and <1% ‘unknown’ who distributed to (note: the latter will include cases where the recipient was recorded as ‘unknown’ as well as cases where recipient details were missing). Table 1.4 provides a quarterly breakdown of kits issued, by who distributed to (Scotland level in 2011/12), whilst table 1.5 shows the numbers at NHS board level for the whole year. The latter shows that for three of the 13 participating boards kits were distributed only to ‘persons at risk’."

"Naloxone is issued to prisoners only on release. Prison statistics show that in 2011/12 there were 19,792 liberations from Scottish prisons (Scottish Government, 2012 7). Combined with results from the 2010/11 Addiction Prevalence Testing in Scottish prisons, where opioids were detected in 36% of prisoners tested on reception (ISD Scotland, 2012⁸), this produces an estimate of 7,125 liberations in 2011/12 of prisoners using opioids on admission to custody. When compared with the 715 ‘take home’ naloxone kits issued by prisons in Scotland in 2011/12 as part of the National Naloxone Programme, this gives an estimate of approximately 100 kits issued per 1,000 such liberations, in 2011/12.
"2.2 Whom kits were issued to
"Whilst the ‘take home’ naloxone issued in the community may be issued to either: the person at risk of opioid overdose, to family/friends or to a service worker, all 715 kits issued by prisons in Scotland in 2011/12 were issued to ‘a person at risk’."

"In 2013/14, £30.3 million was allocated to Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADPs) to support the delivery of improved outcomes for drugs, similar to the figure for the previous year (£30.2 million). Guidance for ADPs on planning and reporting suggests that ADPs should go beyond the reporting of direct Scottish Government investment. Expenditure should map all resources used in responding to the drug problem (CoSLA et al. 2013). This includes criminal justice services, hospital admissions, sexual health and blood-borne virus interventions, and child protection services with the guidance stating that this will 'provide a fuller picture of the full costs of problem drug and alcohol use for local partners and will help inform long term strategic planning and service redesign to support early intervention and prevention.'"

Laws and Policies

"The United Kingdom Government is responsible for setting the overall strategy and for its delivery in the devolved administrations only in matters where it has reserved power (SQ32). A new drug strategy was launched in December 2010 (HM Government 2010) replacing that of the previous Government, which was published in 2008 (HM Government 2008). The 2010 Strategy places a much greater emphasis on supporting those who are drug dependent to achieve recovery – and also widens the focus on dependence to prescription and over-the-counter medicines and tackling emerging new psychoactive substances (NPS). Within the strategy, policies concerning health, education, housing and social care are confined to England; those for policing and the criminal justice system cover England and Wales.
"The Scottish Government and Welsh Government’s national drug strategies were published in 2008, (Scottish Government 2008a; WAG 2008a) the latter combining drugs, alcohol and addiction to prescription drugs and over-the-counter medicines. Each strategy aims to make further progress on reducing harm and helping individuals recover from their drug problems. The Scottish and Welsh strategy documents are also accompanied by an action or implementation plan, providing a detailed set of objectives; actions and responsibilities; expected outcomes; and a corresponding timescale for delivery (Scottish Government 2008a; WAG 2008b; Welsh Government 2013a). Each plan reflects the devolution of responsibilities to the national Government.
"Northern Ireland’s strategy for reducing the harm related to alcohol and drug misuse, the New Strategic Direction for Alcohol and Drugs (NSD), was launched in 2006. The NSD contained actions and outcomes, at both the regional and local level, to achieve its overarching aims (DHSSPSNI 2006). A review of the NSD was conducted in 2010, and, after consultation, a revised strategy, the New Strategic Direction for Alcohol and Drugs Phase 2, 2011-2016, was launched in January 2012 (DHSSPSNI 2011)."

"The United Kingdom (UK) consists of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. England accounts for 84% of the UK population. A number of powers have been devolved from the United Kingdom Parliament to Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, but each has different levels of devolved responsibilities.
"The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 is the principal legislation in the United Kingdom for the control and supply of drugs that are considered dangerous or otherwise harmful when misused. This Act divides such drugs into three Classes (A, B and C) to broadly reflect their relative harms and sets maximum criminal penalties for possession, supply and production in relation to each class.
"Drugs in Class A include cocaine, ecstasy, LSD, magic mushrooms, heroin, methadone, methylamphetamine and injectable amphetamines. Class B drugs include amphetamine, cannabis and synthetic cannabinoids, synthetic cathinone derivatives including mephedrone, as well as, since 2012, pipradrol related compounds including desoxypipradrol (2-DPMP) and diphenylprolinol (D2PM) and, since 2013, methoxetamine and related compounds. Class C drugs include anabolic steroids, tranquillisers, ketamine, benzodiazepines and piperazines (such as BZP).
"Most drugs controlled under the Act are place in one of five schedules to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 based on an assessment of their medicinal or therapeutic usefulness and the need for legitimate access and their potential harms when misused.¹
"The Drugs Act 2005 amended sections of The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, strengthening police powers in relation to the supply of drugs. The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 added provisions for 12-month temporary class drug orders (TCDOs) enabling law enforcement activity against those trafficking and supplying temporary class drugs. Methoxetamine became the first drug subject to a TCDO in the UK in 2012 and, in June 2013, two groups of substances, known as 'NBOMe' and 'Benzofury' compounds (14 in total), were also placed under a TCDO."

"The Scottish Government and Welsh Government’s national drug strategies were published in 2008, the latter combining drugs, alcohol and addiction to prescription drugs and over-the-counter medicines. All three strategies aim to make further progress on reducing harm and each focuses on recovery. The Scottish and Welsh strategy documents are also accompanied by an action or implementation plan, providing a detailed set of objectives; actions and responsibilities; expected outcomes; and a corresponding time scale (Scottish Government 2008a; WAG 2008a; WAG 2008b). Each plan reflects the devolution of responsibilities to the national government.
"Northern Ireland’s strategy for reducing the harm related to alcohol and drug misuse, the New Strategic Direction for Alcohol and Drugs (NSD), was launched in 2006. The NSD contains actions and outcomes, at both the regional and local level, to achieve its overarching aims (DHSSPSNI 2006). A review of the NSD was conducted in 2010, and a revised document was issued for public consultation in March 2011. It is anticipated that the revised document, entitled The New Strategic Direction for Alcohol and Drugs Phase 2 – 2011-2016 will be published later in 2011."

"The aim of the National Naloxone Programme is to contribute to a reduction in fatal opioid overdoses in Scotland. The rate of drug related deaths in Scotland remains higher than the UK average (9.17 drug related deaths per 100,000 population in Scotland in 2010, compared with 3.1 in the UK1). An earlier investigation into drug related deaths in Scotland and more recent information from Scotland’s national drug related deaths database has shown that the majority of these deaths are opioid related, the majority are ‘accidental overdoses’, the majority are ‘witnessed’ and 50% have been in prison (Zador et al, 20052; Graham et al, 2011 and 2012 3 4). As well as monitoring the supply of ‘take-home’ naloxone kits in Scotland, ISD Scotland were tasked by the Scottish Government to measure the impact of increased naloxone availability on the number of (opioid) drug related deaths in Scotland and, in particular, to monitor the number and percentage of these occurring within four weeks of prison release."

"SPS [Scottish Prison Service] developed an intervention to provide naloxone to prisoners at risk of opioid related overdose on release from prison, as part of the National Naloxone Programme, in recognition of the increased risk of overdose in the first four weeks following release from prison custody. The naloxone is packed in with their personal belongings, which are stored at reception, then supplied to the prisoner on release from custody.
"The supply of ‘take-home’ naloxone kits by prisons was introduced, incrementally, from February 2011 and by June 2011 all Scottish prisons were participating in the programme. Approximately 100 prison staff participated in training during the introduction and implementation phase (note: HMP Inverness, along with the Inverness area of NHS Highland, as noted earlier, commenced supply of ‘take home’ naloxone from July 2009)."