News & events
Back to Home Office Drugs E-bulletinsDrugs E-bulletin - August 2008
Welcome to the August 2008 edition of the e-bulletin for the Home Office drugs website.
This month's news includes:
- Reminder: Tackling Drugs Awards 2008
- Action against steroid abuse and GHB type drugs
- Overall drug use is down
- Youth Crime Action Plan
Tackling Drugs Changing Lives Awards 2008 - last chance to make a nomination!
Time is running out to nominate a local hero for a national award. The Tackling Drugs Changing Lives Awards recognise, reward and celebrate people who have made an outstanding contribution to tackling drugs - those who have gone the extra mile to transform lives and local communities through their work.
If you know a team or individual who deserves an award there is still time to make a last-minute nomination. Fill in a nomination form online before 31 August and your nominee might win one of 10 regional awards and will be in with a chance of receiving one of the two national awards. The two national winners will each receive £10,000 to expand their organisation’s work.
Anyone can make a nomination and nominees can come from any sector of the drugs field – drug treatment providers, police teams, prison officers, social workers, housing workers, or drug action teams. Learn more about last year’s winners and the judging criteria.
Make a nomination now!
Action against steroid abuse and GHB type drugs
The arrival of the London Olympics in 2012 may result in more people using drugs to enhance their appearance. The government are planning to add 24 additional anabolic steroids and two growth promoters to the list of class C drugs to prevent abuse. These drugs are already banned by sporting authorities but as yet are not illegal.
In total, 54 anabolic steroids and five growth hormones have been controlled as class C drugs since 1996. Although only a small proportion of people use these steroids, they can cause severe psychiatric and physical problems such as liver disease, high blood pressure and heart failure.
Vernon Coaker, Home Office Minister has given the work of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport his full support, highlighting that through tough enforcement, education and treatment, measures are being taken to prevent the abuse of steroids.
For more information see the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) and our recent news item on steroids and GHB type drugs.
Overall drug use is down
Two important reports published recently include the British Crime Survey and the School's Survey on Smoking, Drinking and Drugs. The reports contain the government's final results on targeting drug use amongst young people.
The British Crime Survey showed a positive picture of trends in drug use amongst 16 to 24 year-olds and adults aged up to 59.
Overall prevalence of illicit drug use in the last year amongst 16 to 59 year-olds is at its lowest level since 1995, mainly due to declines in the use of cannabis since 2003/04. Amongst young people (16 to 24) any illicit drug use is down from 24.1% in 2006/07 to 21.3% in 2007/08, and down from 31.8% in 1997, mainly due to reductions in cannabis, ecstasy, hallucinogens, and amphetamine use.
The NHS Information centre report, Survey of Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among young people in England 2007, contains detailed results from a survey of over 7,831 secondary school children aged 11 to 15 in England in the autumn term of 2007, about smoking, drinking and drug use. The emphasis of the 2007 survey is on drug misuse.
The findings from the survey of 11 to 15 year-olds on drug use are encouraging and support the priorities for the new drug strategy - Drugs: protecting families and communities.
Overall, use of any drug in the last year was reported by 17% of pupils, a decrease from 20% in 2001 and 19% in 2005. 10% of pupils said that they had taken drugs in the last month, down from 12% in 2001.
For more information see our recent news item on drug use.
Youth Crime Action Plan
£100 million will be invested in an effort to stop young people from starting a life of crime. The Youth Crime Action Plan is a targeted effort to stop those under 18 from committing crimes.
It calls for cross-governmental work to:
- get youths off the streets late at night
- provide intensive support for troubled families
- imposing tougher, more visible community payback sentences for young people convicted of crime
Although overall rates of crimes committed by juvenile offenders have held steady, each year around 100,000 people between the ages of 10 and 17 enter the criminal justice system for the first time.
The new action plan aims to reduce this rate by one-fifth by 2020.
Key points included in the action plan are:
- better methods of prevention and support for victims
- expansion of family intervention projects
- more ASBOs accompanied by parenting orders
- expansion of Safer Schools Partnerships
- more youth centres and other activities for young people
- permanent exclusion from school to become an automatic trigger to a comprehensive assessment of a youth's situation
increase in family-nurse partnerships - use of innovative methods to support young victims
- improved support for witnesses
For more information please see the Youth Crime Action Plan (new window) or read our recent news item.
