§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many users of(a) cannabis, (b) ecstasy and (c) heroin are in contact with drugs treatment services. [41617]
§ Ms JowellThe National Health Service regional drug misuse databases collect data on people presenting to services with a drug problem in England and Wales, either for the first time or after a gap of 6 months or more. Data for England are collated centrally by the Department, including details of the main drug and any other drugs of misuse (a maximum of five can be recorded). The most recent statistics published for England are given in the Department's Statistical Bulletin "Drug Misuse Statistics for the six months ending September 1996". Information for this period is given in the table.
Use of cannabis, ecstasy and heroin as main or subsidiary drug by users starting agency episodes in the period 1 April to 30 September 1996, England Drug of misuse Main drug Subsidiary drug Total Cannabis 1,533 4,784 6,317 Ecstasy 268 1,165 1,433 Heroin 14,334 2,065 16,399 Note:
A user may report using more than one drug; for example, heroin may be reported as the main drug and cannabis and/or ecstasy reported as the subsidiary drugs
Our 10 year strategy for tackling drug misuse, Tackling Drugs to Build a Better Britain, aims to ensure that all problem drug misusers have access to support from appropriate services when needed and to increase the proportion of problem drug misusers in contact with drug treatment services.