Drug misuse declared: Findings from the 2010/11 British Crime Survey. England and Wales

The British Crime Survey examines the extent and trends in illicit drug use among 16 to 59 year olds living in England and Wales included the following interesting trends.
This annual statistical bulletin examines:
• Since 2004 drug use, particularly among young people, has been dropping. This is largely because of a reduction in the use of cannabis. In adults aged 16-59, use of cannabis within the last year dropped from around 10% in 2004 to around 7% last year.
• The level of "any drug use" was highest among 16-19 year olds, 18% of whom have taken illegal drugs in the last year. Class A drug used by 8% of 20 to 24 year olds, which is the highest demographic compared to other age groups. One probable interpretation of this data is to suggest that teenagers are more likely to smoke cannabis, but when they enter their twenties they are less likely to smoke cannabis, but are more likely to take Class A drugs.
• 36.8% of people aged 16-59 have taken illegal drugs at one point in their life.
• 40% of young people aged 16-24 have ever used illicit drugs in their lifetime.
• 20% of 16-24 year olds have taken illicit drugs within the last year.
• There is a significant gender divide among drug users. The level of any illicit drug use among men (12.0%) was twice as high as that for women (5.7%). Men (4.2%) were also more than twice as likely as women (1.8%) to have used a Class A drug in the last year.
• Cocaine use has risen by almost since the survey started, from .6% of adults in 1996 to a peak of 3% in 2008/9. It has since reduced to 2.2% This represents nearly a four fold increase in 15 years.
• The 2010/11 BCS shows that levels of ketamine use (at 0.6%) were around double those when questions on the use of this drug were first asked in the 2006/07 BCS (0.3%)