Aust R, Condon J (2003) Geographical Variations in Drug Use. Home Office Statistical Bulletin15/03. London: Home Office. 

This report looks at geographical variations in drug use for 16 to 59-year-olds in England and Wales. It uses the British Crime Survey (BCS) to examine the prevalence and trends of the most commonly used drugs and how these differ within Government Office Regions, ACORN areas and inner city, rural and urban areas. It also analyses patterns of drug use by physical disorder in the area and population size in Police Force Areas.

This report concludes that there is a strong relationship between levels of drug use and particular geographical areas. It finds that many of the geographical variables are correlated, with the ACORN indicator being the strongest predictor for use of Class A and any illicit drug.

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/hosb1503.pdf 

Hibell B, Andersson B, Bjarnason T, Ahlstrohm S, Balakireva O, Kokkevi A, Morgan M (2004) ESPAD Report 2003. The European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs. The Swedish Council for Information on Alcohol and Other Drugs (CAN) and the Pompidou Group at the Council of Europe. Stockholm, Sweden.

Data on young people’s alcohol and drug use have been collected in three waves of the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs, ESPAD. The first study was conducted in 26 countries in 1995. The second survey was done in 1999 and reached 30 participating countries. The focus of this chapter is on the findings from the surveys that were performed in 35 countries in 2003. The participating countries include Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, the Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany (6 Bundesländer), Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia (Moscow), the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey (6 cities), Ukraine and the United Kingdom. The project is a collaborative project between independent research teams in the participating countries. More than 100,000 students participated in the 2003 data collection. In this chapter a short version of the 2003 findings is presented. Key data on important variables are presented in summary tables. The behaviours included are cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, drunkenness and use of illicit drugs.

http://www.espad.org/summary.html

Roe S (2005) Drug Misuse Declared: Findings from the 2004/05 British Crime Survey. Home Office Statistical Bulletin 16/05. London: Home Office.

This statistical bulletin considers the extent of illicit drug use among 16 to 59 year olds in England and Wales  in 2004/05 and trends in drug use since 1998, which marked the beginning of the Government’s Drug Strategy, based on data from the British Crime Survey. It particularly focuses on young people. These data are used for monitoring the Public Service Agreement (PSA) target to reduce drug use amongst young people that is shared between the Home Office and the Department for Education and Skills. It also looks at demographic and geographical variations in drug use. The report shows that among young people, aged 16 to 24 years old, use of ‘Any drug’ decreased and Class A drug use remained stable since 1998.

For the 16 to 59 year old age group, between 1998 and 2004/05 the use of ‘Any drug’ remained stable and Class A drug use increased. This increase in Class A drug use was mainly due to a comparatively large increase in cocaine use between 1998 and 2000. However from 2000 to 2004/05 the use of Class A drugs overall and cocaine in particular remained stable. Cocaine use amongst 16 to 59 year olds decreased between 2003/04 and 2004/05. Cannabis use amongst this age group also decreased from 2003/04 to 2004/05, contributing to a fall in overall use of ‘Any drug’ since 2003/04.

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/hosb1605.pdf%5D