Growing cannabis plants amounts to “producing” cannabis, even drugs if this is for your own personal use. An offence has been committed if you have sold or are found sharing drugs with others, even if they did not pay you for them. The Sentencing Council is an independent, non-departmental public body. We are part of the Ministry of Justice family of arm’s-length bodies. The information on this page is not a complete legal analysis of the offences and is not a substitute for legal advice.
Released 15 December 2022 Data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) on the extent and trends of illicit drug use.
The Workforce Expert Delivery Group provides oversight and advice on the delivery of those actions outlined within the action plan. We have made £100 million available to support residential rehabilitation from 2021 to 2026. We supported the opening of the first Heroin Assisted Treatment (HAT) service in Glasgow in 2019.
Frequent use, which means taking drugs more than once a month, was recorded at around 1.8% of adults, amounting to over 600,000 people. This group is smaller in number but represents a higher risk of slipping into patterns of dependency. When most people picture drug addiction, they imagine the stereotypical signs we have seen on television or perhaps even witnessed in real life.
Research & data
If your child is caught in possession of a controlled drug, they have committed a criminal offence. It is extremely dangerous to mix different drugs, including taking drugs and alcohol together. Teach your child about the effects of drugs and make sure they’re aware of the risks. Addaction provide a free, confidential webchat service to those in need of addiction support or for their families. If the offence is possession with intent to supply, supply, production or importation the court will determine the offender’s culpability and the harm caused. The maximum sentence depends on whether a person is charged with possession, supply or production, and what class of drug the offence is related to.
6 Sep Report and tables from NHS England on the smoking (including electronic cigarette use), alcohol drinking, and drugs among young people in England.
Further information of controlled drug licensing
We work with partners to reduce the number of people misusing drugs in Sheffield, provide safe and appropriate treatment for those misusing drugs, and reducing the harms from drug misuse. They have a dedicated service for young people aged 10 to 18 who live and/or attend school in Warrington. Their specialist team provide confidential support and advice to young people worried about drugs and/or alcohol. Our unique Drugs in Breastmilk service (DiBM) provides information to mothers, parents, families and healthcare professionals on taking medication whilst breastfeeding – 365 days a year. It is run by registered pharmacists who are all trained to give breastfeeding support. For young people (usually up to 19 years old) the 360° service gives help and support to young people with drug and alcohol issues.
Better Lives is the main drug and alcohol service for adults in Islington. Better Lives offer free and confidential treatment and support for people and families affected by drugs and alcohol. There are a range of treatment options including self-help, psychological support, medical detox, and residential rehabilitation. The drug and alcohol service for Newham residents is run by Change, Grow, Live (CGL). As a parent or carer, it’s important to talk to your child or young person about drugs and alcohol.
By doing this, you can help them to understand the risks and support them to make safe and healthy choices. You’ll also find information about where you can get help if you’re worried about your child’s alcohol or drug use. The coronavirus emergency placed great strain on the physical and mental wellbeing of NHS staff – including those working on the NHS frontline and, by association, those close to them. We have commissioned various support offers for health and care staff across a range of areas, there is advice, guidance and support available around drug and alcohol issues for individuals and/or their family members. Early access to appropriate information can help to deal with the issues effectively and reduce/stop the harm.
Released 20 July 2023 Crime statistics are produced by multiple departments across government. The aim of this guide is to collate the main sources of crime statistics, broken down by potential areas of interest, to provide a more efficient way to find the crime statistics needed. In the year ending March 2023, an estimated 2.3% of people aged 16 to 59 years were frequent drug users (approximately 770,000), similar to the year ending March 2020 (2.1%).
More detailed descriptions on which drugs are included for each year can be found in Section 1 of the accompanying dataset. The majority of people aged 16 to 59 years who reported using any drug in the last year were infrequent users (70%), with almost half (49.4%) reporting they had only taken them “once or twice” (Figure 4). The proportion of people aged 16 to 24 years that were infrequent users was similar (67.6%). Prevalence of use in the last year was below one percent for all other individual drug types in the year ending March 2023, except for ketamine (3.8%) and new psychoactive substances (1.4%) in those aged 16 to 24 years. Always seek medical assistance if you have concerns or questions about your condition.