Britain is the cocaine capital of Europe amid ‘Uberisation’ of drug dealing, damning report finds
THOUSANDS of teenagers are taking cocaine in Britain amid an “Uberisation” of the drug trade.
A shock report yesterday said Britain was the cocaine capital of Europe - and had the Continent’s highest usage rates amongst young people.
Brussels’ drugs agency said nearly five per cent of UK 15-34-year-olds have used coke in the last 12 months.
And 3% of schoolchildren aged 15-16 have tried it.
The report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction warns of a potential “Uberisation” of the cocaine trade – as users order their hit by smartphone.
It said sellers were competing by offering additional services such as fast and flexible delivery options.
And Britain is singled out as “the European country that has been most associated with crack use” - something agency branded a “growing concern”.
In total more than one in 10 [10.7%] British adults are believed to have tried the drug at least once in their lifetime - double the EU average [5.4%].
Almost a third [28%] of entrants for treatment of cocaine addiction across Europe were in the UK - standing at 20,290 out of 72,424.
'UBERISATION'
The EU’s home affairs chief Dimitris Avramopoulos said: “The drugs situation is worsening in many parts of the world and sadly the EU is no exception.
“This year’s report presents a warning picture. There is a record level of illicit drug seizures.
“On the one hand this shows that law enforcement is doing a good job. On the other it shows how many people can access drugs.”
He said the sale of cocaine over the Internet, social media and messaging apps was making “tackling drug availability more difficult”.
Elsewhere, the report shows that young British adults are the third highest users of ecstasy in Europe, with 3.3% having tried it.
It also has the worst instances of “high risk opioid use” with 8.4 people per every thousand of the population using.
And 30% of British adults have tried Cannabis at least once during their lifetimes, according to the figures.
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They also revealed the UK, France and Spain together accounted for over two-thirds of all drug seizures across the EU in 2017. Overall, record amounts of cocaine are being seized and more frequently than before.
The report compares survey data from all 28 EU countries collected during the last decade to create a picture of drug use across Europe.
Figures for usage in the UK come from 2017 and only cover England and Wales due to the devolution of health services.
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