APPENDIX C
Drug Trends
1. The following pages represent data from
IDMU surveys conducted between 1984 and 2000. Surveys were all
conducted using anonymous questionnaires distributed at pop festivals
and other outdoor events. A number of "core" questions
appear each year, allowing year on year comparisons to be made.
The number of respondents in each year were as follows:
| 1984 | 607
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| 1994 | 1,333
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| 1995 | 191 |
| 1997 | 1,136
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| 1998 | 1,153
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| 1999 | 2,173
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| 2000 | 2,352
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2. DRUG PREVALENCE
2.1 The lifetime prevalence of using most drugs has remained
relatively stable among the user population as a whole, however
amphetamine and LSD appear to be declining steadily, whereas cocaine
and ecstasy appear to be increasing slightly. Prevalence of magic
mushroom use (not shown) is similar to that of LSD. Crack and
Ecstasy were not listed options in 1984, although one per cent
mentioned MDA as a write-in option. Users of crack in 1984 (then
known as freebase) did not report it directly, but some of the
cocaine would have been used in that form.
3. Frequency of use
3.1 Users of each drug were asked to state how often
they used the drug. Other than cannabis and legal drugs (caffeine,
tobacco, alcohol), there were few daily users, with experimental
or occasional use the norm.
4. RETAIL PRICES
4.1 Prices of cannabis resin have been falling steadily
since 1994, actually having peaked in the late 1980s, with the
most substantial falls seen since 1998. Data for a range of cannabis
resin and herbal varieties are available, only the most common
Moroccan/Soap Bar resin is shown. Prices for imported herbal cannabis
are also in decline, as is the market share, which has been overtaken
by domestically produced cannabis (skunk). Skunk prices have remained
relatively stable, with roughly a 50 per cent price premium as
compared to resin.
4.2 Prices of amphetamine have again remained relatively
stable, although the average purity has increased substantially.
LSD prices are becoming less commonly reported, and remain stable.
Ecstasy prices have fallen by nearly 50 per cent since 1995, and
the fall appears to be continuing.
4.3 Prices of cocaine and crack have remained stable,
although the purity of cocaine is increasing at street level.
Heroin prices have fallen sharply since 1995, with purities currently
at historically high levels. Heroin is very rarely "cut"
in the UK, with differences normally arising in the country of
manufacture, and are likely to vary with climate conditions in
the producer country (analogous to "vintages" in wine
production).
5. DRUG RATINGS
5.1 Drug Users were asked to rate each drug (whether
or not they had used it) on a scale of 0-10, with 0 the most negative
and 10 the most positive rating. These figures give an indication
of the popularity and/or social acceptability of particular drugs
within the subculture. Note this data was only collected from
1994 onwards.
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