Statistics, revealed by Public Health England, give a frighteningly clear picture of the extent of crack cocaine and heroin usage in the UK. Their recently published findings are based on data from April 2016 to March 2017. They make for interesting reading!
The new research shows that the use of crack cocaine and heroin is on the increase in the UK, at a rate that some experts see as alarming. Surprisingly, some of the worst affected areas are also some of the wealthiest in this country. For instance, Kensington and Chelsea has been shown to have the third largest number of heroin and crack cocaine addicts in the UK.
The rich London borough has the highest house and flat prices in the UK. Still, statistics show that there are 1,451 regular users of the Class A drugs in the area, a figure equivalent to 13.31 users per every 1,000 people.
The dramatic increase in the number of crack cocaine and heroin users has been seen in other affluent areas too. Over four years, Surrey has witnessed a 31 per cent in the number of addicts in it’s towns. The county has some of the most expensive properties in the country. House in villages such as Cobham and Virginia Water regularly fetch over £1 million.
The county presently has 3,391 addicts in total, compared to 2,572 in 2012/13.
The affluent county of Hertfordshire has seen numbers jump by 43 per cent from 2,908 to 4,174 in just four years.
The largest number of crack cocaine and heroin users in the UK can be found in Kingston upon Hull. It’s population of 173,367 people includes some 3,146 users of the Class A drugs.
One of the oft-cited reasons for the increase in Cocaine usage in the UK has been the low cost of the drug. In Bristol, for example, it was claimed that drug users in the city could buy cocaine at “pocket money” prices.
The UK’s Crack Cocaine and Heroin Hotspots
Top 25 English local authority areas
(Total number / number per 1,000 population)
Middlesbrough 2,315 / 25.51
Blackpool 2,052 / 23.45
Hartlepool 1,212 / 20.63
Blackburn with Darwen 1,788 / 18.84
Kingston upon Hull 3,146 / 18.15
Liverpool 5,778 / 17.06
Bristol 4,943 / 15.66
Wirral 3,090 / 15.63
Bournemouth 1,932 / 15.05
Stoke-on-Trent 2,382 / 14.67
Tower Hamlets 3,244 / 14.42
North East Lincolnshire 1,426 / 14.35
Hackney 2,858 / 14.34
Birmingham 10,525 / 14.23
Gateshead 1,850 / 14.19
Wakefield 3,016 / 14.06
Doncaster 2,735 / 14.04
Bradford 4,710 / 14.01
Peterborough 1,737 / 13.77, Stockton-on-Tees, 1,725 / 13.77, Plymouth 2,357 / 13.77
Rochdale 1,900 / 13.76
Wolverhampton 2,233 / 13.57
Luton 1,875 / 13.32
Kensington and Chelsea 1,451 / 13.31
Torbay 1,040 / 13.27
Darlington 877 / 13.20
Cocaine Use in 2022
Use of both cocaine and Heroin in our major cities continues to flourish. The COVID-19 pandemic took some drugs sales to the dark web with illicit substances being trade through the post. However traditional “dealing” continues in the UK’s town and cities. The most recent overview of illicit drug markets in the European Union by the EMCDDA and Europol found that “Cocaine availability in Europe is probably at an all-time high and the drug is more affordable for consumers than in the past”
In Swansea, an arrested cocaine dealer boasted of making £1,000 an hour in the town and said ‘business is crazy’. Meanwhile, near Warrington, police captured £20 million pounds worth of cocaine, intercepting the drugs on the M6 motorway and arrest the gang involved.
It seems, as if the market for drugs in our towns and cities is as brisk as ever!
Photo by Tom Grimbert (@tomgrimbert) on Unsplash
Zoom Testing is a leading UK drug testing company and a supplier of Drug Test Kits.
This post was originally published in May 2018 and has been updated regularly since.
