Concern crack cocaine use now ‘fashionable’

Professionals, students and clubbers are taking crack cocaine after the drug started to become “fashionable”, a government review has been told.

Suggestions of a new “hidden cohort” of crack users were flagged up to a Home Office inquiry.

Officials were told the drug was starting to become “more acceptable, even fashionable” among groups who would not previously have taken it.

The investigation also heard claims that crack use has “skyrocketed” amid a “ready supply” from dealers who increasingly operate around the clock, delivering the drugs “quicker than a pizza”.

Minister for crime, safeguarding and vulnerability Victoria Atkins said: “The government is committed to tackling the illicit drugs trade, protecting the most vulnerable and helping those with a drug dependency to recover.”