Data source is not really comfirmed yet but public consumering on recreational drugs here. (N+)

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Tony Thompson and Jamie Doward
Sunday September 28, 2003
The Observer: http://www.guardian.co.uk/drugs/
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   Ecstasy use in the UK has exploded dramatically over the past five years, with double the number of people taking the drug. Ecstasy users are poised to overtake the combined number of heroin and cocaine users.

   A United Nations report reveals that in Britain 2.2 per cent of the population aged 16 to 59 - 730,000 people - now take ecstasy, compared with 1.2 per cent five years ago. More people take ecstasy as a proportion of the population than in any other country, except Australia and Ireland.

   The report, by the UN's Office on Drugs and Crime, shows that more than 120 million tonnes of ecstasy are now produced annually. The mass production has led to a plunge in prices: an ecstasy tablet can be bought for £3.

   The number of Britons taking heroin has remained rela tively static at around 300,000. Just under 500,000 use cocaine. Soon, figures suggest, ecstasy will be more popular in the UK than cocaine and heroin combined.

   The report shows seizure rates for synthetic drugs such as ecstasy and amphetamine (speed) are rising by 28 per cent a year. Heroin is up by only 8 per cent and cocaine by 1.5 per cent. Globally, the number of people who consume ecstasy has soared to eight million - an increase of 70 per cent over five years. If the trend continues, global consumption of ecstasy will exceed that of heroin, now used by nine million people, within the next 12 months.

   The number of people in the UK taking amphetamines has dropped from 2.6 per cent of the population five years ago to 1.6 per cent. Many of the users are believed to have switched to ecstasy. ... ...

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