Young adults' drug choices: from crack and heroin to cocaine and cannabis

Young people are moving away from crack cocaine and heroin and towards 'ordinary' cocaine and cannabis according to new figures from the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse. In 2008/9 £800m was spent on national drug treatment services, a figure that has more than tripled in the last decade. Last year more than 200,000 adults received treatment for drug addiction - mainly for heroin and crack cocaine - of whom 25,000 (1 in 8) successfully came off drugs. Among 18-24 year-olds there has been a 30% fall in those looking for treatment for heroin and crack addiction since 2005/6. However, there was a 20% increase in over 35s seeking treatment for crack and heroin addiction over the same period. The proportion of 18-24 year-olds looking for treatment for cocaine addiction has doubled in the last four years and there has also been a small rise in treatment for cannabis addiction.

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