We’ll all have our views on the necessity (or not) of the “War on Drugs” and whether prohibition works (and the alternatives) – more on that in
Before that, it’s worth putting the impact of drugs in Wales (and on the people involved in supplying them) in context.
How much is the domestic drug trade worth?
There are very few Wales-only figures, but a UK Government review from 20204 estimated the UK illegal drugs market to be worth around £9.4billion a year. Some of the quoted estimates for the market value of certain drugs include:
- Heroin – £4billion.
- Cannabis – £2billion
- Powder cocaine – £2billion.
- Crack cocaine – £1billion.
- Synthetic drugs (i.e. ecstasy, LSD, amphetamines) – Unreliable figures; ecstasy estimated at £40million.
Barring money laundering, none of that money will be taxed and all of it will be made and retained by criminals.
Street prices for drugs have remained fairly consistent, except for heroin and powder cocaine – the latter of which has seen prices double between 2014-2020.
A major YouGov social attitudes survey from 20225 found that:
- 64% of people in Wales thought that drug abuse was either a big problem or a very big problem in their area – second only to Scotland amongst the nations and regions of the UK.
- Drug abuse was joint top alongside domestic abuse as a social issue that “needs more attention” locally, with 60% believing that the government was doing badly in addressing drug abuse.
- 53% believed there wasn’t enough discussion about drug abuse in the media.
- Older age groups (over-65s) believed that politicians should reveal their drug-taking history, but there was less support for this amongst those aged under 50.
- There was a clear split in age on drug laws; a majority or near majority of over-40s believed drug laws were too lenient, while the under-25s thought they were too strict.
- 53% believed possession of “soft drugs” for personal use should either be legal or treated as a minor criminal offence, but 47% believed selling soft drugs should continue to be illegal.
- There was clear majority support for possession and sale of “hard drugs” to continue to be a criminal offence; only 6% thought that possession for personal use should be legal.
- Most people (44%) believe drug addiction is down to an equal mix of personal choice and circumstances beyond someone’s control. Though Conservatives were more likely to view drug addiction as a personal choice (43%) and Labour supporters are a bit more likely to believe it’s due to circumstances beyond someone’s control (28%).
- Conservatives were more likely to support a criminal justice approach to drugs (police and courts). Labour supporters were more likely to support drug rehabilitation via the NHS – though the largest section of people (44%) support both approaches equally.
- The vast majority of non-drug users (80-90%+) have never been tempted to try recreational drugs, though their illegality only put off 38% of respondents. Meanwhile, only 21% were put off because taking drugs is “immoral”. Young people were slightly more willing to use softer recreational drugs, but there was a consistent rejection of harder drugs like heroin.
- The majority of people who have taken illegal recreational drugs have rarely gone beyond cannabis (93% have used it at some point).
Drugs and culture
In Part I, it was noted that many artists and creatives have produced works under the influence of drugs.
Many social/cultural movements, rightly or wrongly, have their signature recreational drugs: Romantics (opium), the 1960s counterculture (cannabis and LSD), punk (heroin), Yuppies and 1980s hair metal (cocaine), the rave scene of the late 1980s (ecstasy) and club culture of the late 1990s/early 2000s (amphetamines & ecstasy).
That’s before mentioning works about drugs, the drug “trade” or drug addiction – some of which have become our most acclaimed creative pieces and given us some of our most celebrated anti-heroes (Walter White from Breaking Bad immediately comes to mind).
Maybe that’s part of the problem as it attaches a “glamour” or “mystique” to drugs that, in real life, doesn’t exist.
Drugs even touch parts of our society where you wouldn’t expect them to.
In 2019, an ITV Wales investigation uncovered evidence of cocaine use in toilets only accessible to security pass holders (mainly staff and MSs) at the Senedd estate; but are we really that shocked that people at the top of politics might use coke?
So, are our attitudes to drugs in the 21st century similar to the hypocritical moralism of the Victorian age?
Publicly, we’re against drugs. They’re a scourge on our communities with the people who use them not entirely worthy of sympathy because of their moral weakness in not being able to resist temptation.
Privately, we’re more than willing to harvest whatever creative fruit has been fertilised by that addiction and abuse.
4. UK Government, Home Office (17th September 2020). “Review of drugs: summary”. Available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-drugs-phase-one-report/review-of-drugs-summary#part-one—the-illicit-drugs-market
5. YouGov (24th January 2022). “The YouGov Big Survey on Drugs”. Available here: https://yougov.co.uk/society/articles/40277-yougov-big-survey-drugs
