An estimated one in three adults has taken an illegal drug in their lifetime according to the latest figures out from the Home Office, but the number of people aged aged 16 to 59 taking drugs in the past year is at one of the lowest levels since 1996.

Around 12m people have tried an illicit drug in their lifetime, the 2011/12 Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) has found with the percentage rising slightly from 36.3% in 2010/11 to 36.5% in 2011/12.

The number of adults that had taken drugs in the last year however fell to 8.9% - the lowest figure since the measurements began in 1996. Alan Travis writes:



Illicit drug use in England and Wales is firmly on a downward curve, with the latest annual figures confirming the long-term trend that they might simply be "going out of fashion". The latest figures published on Thursday even record a decline in recently banned so-called "legal highs" such as mephedrone and Spice (synthetic cannabis).

We've broken down the report into a few key categories from what age people first try drugs to the substances most used. See below for the trends recorded in the latest release.

Most popular drug

Cannabis remains the most popular drug with 2.3m users taking it in the past year. Powder cocaine and ecstasy were the second and third most prevalent drug with 0.7m and 05m users respectively. However at 6.9%, cannabis use in the past year now remains at the lowest level since the CSEW measurement began. Amphetamine use has seen a large fall over the long term according to the findings, from 3.2% in 1996 down to 0.8% in the 2011/12 survey.

Age of first use

The most common age for first taking either powder cocaine, ecstasy or cannabis was between 16 and 18 years old. The most common age for cannabis was 16 years old whilst for powder cocaine and ecstasy it was 18 years old. The report also found a wide variation for age of first drug use from as young as seven up to 57 years old.

Location

Those surveyed who had used drugs in the past year most commonly obtained drugs from domestic circumstances such as their own home or from someone else's home. One in five (21%) obtained drugs at a bar, club, party or rave. Locations also differed by drug - cannabis was most likely to have been obtained under domestic circumstances whereas those taking cocaine or ecstasy were more likely to have got the drugs at a bar, club, party or rave.

Alcohol would seem to be another contributing factor - adults who reported drinking alcohol three or more days per week were around three times more

likely to have used drugs (12.4%) and around six times more likely to have used a Class A drug (4.9%) in the past year than those who had not drunk any alcohol in the last month.

Frequent drug use

Frequent drug use among 16-24 year olds is twice as high as for 16-59 year olds overall. However, the report states that 'among young people who have reported taking any drug in the last year, two in five (41%) were defined as frequent drug users, a similar proportion to that found among adults (40%)'

The tables below show

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Data summary

Proportion of 16 to 24 year olds reporting use of drugs in the last year, 1996 to 2011/12, % Click heading to sort table. Download this data Drug 1996 2006/07 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 Any cocaine 1.4 6.1 6.6 5.6 4.5 4.2 Powder cocaine 1.3 6 6.6 5.5 4.4 4.2 Crack cocaine 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.5 0.3 0.2 Ecstasy 6.6 4.8 4.4 4.3 3.8 3.3 Hallucinogens 5.3 2.1 1.7 1.5 1.7 1.4 LSD 4.5 0.7 0.8 0.5 0.6 0.5 Magic mushrooms 2.3 1.7 1.5 1.2 1.3 1.2 Opiates 0.4 0.2 0 0.3 0.4 0.5 Heroin 0.4 0.2 0 0.1 0.1 0.1 Methadone 0.1 0.1 0 0.2 0.4 0.4 Any amphetamine n/a n/a 2.7 2.4 2.6 2 Amphetamines 11.8 3.5 2.6 2.4 2.5 2 Methamphetamine n/a n/a 0.2 0 0.1 0.1 Cannabis 26 20.9 18.7 16.1 17.1 15.7 Tranquillisers 0.9 0.6 1 0.8 0.7 0.5 Anabolic steroids 0.5 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.3 Ketamine n/a 0.8 1.9 1.7 2.1 1.8 Amyl nitrite 4.6 4.2 4.4 3.2 2.4 1.7 Glues 0.9 0.6 0.7 0.7 n/a n/a Frequent drug use n/a 8.3 7.6 7.3 n/a 7 Any Class A drug 9.2 8 8.1 7.3 6.6 6.3 Any stimulant drug 14.9 9.9 10 8.8 7.6 6.9 Any drug 29.7 24.1 22.6 20 20.4 19.3

Proportion of 16 to 59 year olds reporting use of drugs in the last year, 1996 to 2011/12, % Click heading to sort table. Download this data Drug 1996 2006/07 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 Any cocaine 0.6 2.6 3 2.5 2.2 2.2 Powder cocaine 0.6 2.6 3 2.4 2.1 2.2 Crack cocaine 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.1 Ecstasy 1.7 1.8 1.8 1.6 1.4 1.4 Hallucinogens 1.3 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.5 LSD 1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 Magic mushrooms 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.5 Opiates 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.3 Heroin 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 Methadone 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 Any amphetamine n/a n/a 1.2 1 1.1 0.8 Amphetamines 3.2 1.3 1.2 1 1 0.8 Methamphetamine n/a n/a 0.1 0 0.1 0.1 Cannabis 9.5 8.2 7.9 6.6 6.8 6.9 Tranquillisers 0.4 0.4 0.7 0.4 0.4 0.5 Anabolic steroids 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 Ketamine n/a 0.3 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.6 Amyl nitrite 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.1 1 0.8 Glues 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 n/a n/a Frequent drug use n/a n/a n/a 3.3 n/a 3.3 Any Class A drug 2.7 3.4 3.7 3.1 3 3 Any stimulant drug 4.4 4 4.4 3.7 3.5 3.4 Any drug 11.1 10 10.1 8.6 8.8 8.9

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