Drug Misuse: key points

• Surveys consistently indicate that cannabis is by far the most commonly used drug among all segments of the population.
• The most recent Scottish estimate of the number of problematic drug users (opiates and benzodiazepines), aged between 15 and 54, was 51,582 in 2003, compared with 55,800 in 2000. The estimate of 51,582 corresponds to 1.84% of the population aged between 15 and 54. Two-thirds of problematic users are male.
• In 2005, there were 336 drug related deaths (20 fewer than in 2004). Most deaths (68%) were in persons aged under 45 and men accounted for 77% of deaths.
• In 2005/06, 13,791 'new' individuals (referring to those attending the service for the first time or where it has been at least six months since the last attendance at the service) were reported to the Scottish Drug Misuse Database.  This corresponds to a rate of 289 per 100,000 of the Scottish population.
• The total number of Injecting Drug Users known to be infected with HCV is 12,296, approximately ten times the number of HIV diagnoses within this group.
• The Drug Misuse Information Scotland website is a unique resource holding and linking to a vast range of information, research and statistics on drug misuse in Scotland, UK and Europe.