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Cocaine users in Scotland 'spend £114 a day on their habit' | |
(about 2 hours later) | |
By Reevel Alderson Home affairs correspondent, BBC Scotland | |
Cocaine users in Scotland spent an average of £114 a day to feed their habit last year, a new report has revealed. | |
The figure has risen by 31% over the last five years. | |
But the report, href="http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Drugs-and-Alcohol-Misuse/Publications/2012-02-28/2012-02-28-dmss2011-report.pdf" title="Drugs misuse report" >Drug Misuse Statistics Scotland 2011, said average daily spending by heroin addicts remained stable at £33 over the same period. | |
The majority of addicts seeking treatment (70%) said their drug use was funded by benefits. | |
Heroin continued to be the drug most commonly abused, although the figure of 62% was a 5% fall over the year. | |
However, the report said the figure had fluctuated since 2006/7. | |
A third (33%) of heroin users also reported illicit diazepam use. | |
Cocaine use remained stable at 8%, but crack cocaine use was down to 3%. | |
The report, published by the Scottish government's Information Services Division, said drug misuse appeared to be falling among young people. | |
Young people | |
But it also suggested many addicts had been using drugs for more than a decade. | |
The minister for community safety and legal affairs, Roseanna Cunningham, said the report offered both good and bad news. | |
She said: "Significantly fewer young people are using illegal drugs and placing their health and lives at risk. | |
"However, we are seeing a cohort of hard-to-reach individuals who have been using drugs for more than a decade. | |
"They are getting older and their risk of drug-related death is greater." | |
Drug treatment | |
Older drug users were more likely to abuse heroin - 65% of those over 25 reported using the drug, compared to 23% of 15 to 19-year-olds. | |
The figures suggested the proportion of new clients over the age of 30 being seen by drug treatment agencies had risen to 60% in 20010/11, up from 51% five years ago. | |
In the past year a total of 10,813 new clients were assessed for specialist drug treatment. | |
The government said it had invested record amounts in frontline drug treatment services to ensure those who wanted help could get it. |