Pill-popping festival crowds blamed for Class A drug use record high

RECORD numbers of people are taking Class A drugs, figures have shown, as experts blamed the cocaine and ecstasy habits of young people for the rise.

The Home Office said 3.7 per cent of people aged 16 to 59 had admitted taking the most dangerous illicit substances in 2018/19 – the highest rate since records began in 1996. This equates to around 1.3 million people and marks a peak after years of increasing abuse since 2011/12, according to findings from the Crime Survey of England and Wales.

Around 8.7 per cent of young adults reported using Class A drugs in the last year – equating to around 550,000 people – the highest estimate for people aged 16 to 24 since 2002/03.

The explosion in the number of festivals each summer is thought to be one potential driver behind the trend, while the increasing availability of cocaine is said to have helped alter its reputation as a drug for professionals.

Powder cocaine has become increasing popular among young adults in recent years, jumping from 4.1 per cent of people aged 16 to 24 using it in the last year in 2011/12 to 6.2 per cent in 2018/19.

The use of ecstasy by young adults has also risen during the same period, with 5.4 per cent of people aged 16 to 24 taking the party drug in the last year.

Harry Shapiro, the director of awareness group Drugwise, told The Daily Telegraph: “There is a lot of cocaine available in the country these days.

“Although to some extent it still has an element of a sort of ‘champagne’ image around it, I don’t think it is that unusual any more – I don’t think people imagine they are crossing a line, if they have the odd line.

“What’s interesting about ecstasy is that there are some very strong pills out there, but [the rise] may also be linked to the explosion of festivals that we’ve had in recent years.

“I think festivals give young people in their mid to late teens an opportunity to be away from prying eyes and experiment with things.” The majority of ecstasy and powder cocaine users aged 16 to 59 reported only taking the drugs once or twice a year, the report said.

Overall drug use was found to have slightly increased – with roughly one in 11 adults aged 16 to 59 taking an illicit substance in the past year.

A Government spokesman said: “We are committed to reducing the use of drugs and the harms they cause.”