Middle class more likely to take class A drugs

Met Police commissioner accuses users of fuelling knife crime as one in nine admit trying substances

THE middle classes are more likely than the working class to have taken class A drugs like cocaine and ecstasy amid concerns they are fuelling knife crime by drug gangs, a study has revealed.

Almost one in 10 (nine per cent) of all adults admitted having tried a class A drug, with the number rising to one in seven (14 per cent) among 18 to 24-yearolds and 25 to 49-year-olds.

The Yougov poll of 1,730 adults showed nine per cent of those from middle classes – defined as groups ABC1 – admitted trying class A drugs, compared with eight per cent of those from working classes, defined as C2DE.

A further one in 20 Britons (five per cent) said they would consider trying a Class A drug if they were legalised.

Of those who have tried or would try a class A drug, 47 per cent named cocaine – one of the main drugs supplied by county lines gangs who have been blamed for the surge in serious violence and knife crime – followed by ecstasy (tried by 44 per cent) and LSD (26 per cent).

Cressida Dick, the Met Police commissioner, led criticism of hypocritical middle-class cocaine users whom she accused of having “blood on their hands” over a spate of violent killings. “There are a whole group of middleclass people who will sit round happily and think about global warming and fair trade but think there is no harm in taking a bit of cocaine,” she said recently. “Well, there is. There’s misery throughout the supply chain.”

Despite police chiefs’ criticism of middle-class use, there are growing calls from some officers for decriminalisation to be considered for possession for personal use of small amounts of cannabis and class A drugs. Supporters argue it would allow police to focus resources on traffickers and dealers.

Thames Valley Police is piloting a scheme in one area where people caught with small quantities of drugs, including class A drugs like cocaine, are not arrested but instead encouraged to seek treatment.

Under the scheme, which is being watched closely by the National Police Chiefs Council, those caught are only subsequently prosecuted if they fail to engage with addiction services and are found in possession in the future.