Background to the Research

• Concern has been growing in NI over the increased availability and use of illicit drugs. Official police statistics suggest that the problem may be escalating.
• The NICS took place between February and May 1998 and focused on the extent of victimisation and concerns about crime in NI. Also included in the NICS was a self-reporting drugs module containing questions on the knowledge and use of illicit drugs.
  

Research Approach

• The sample of those surveyed was drawn from the Valuation and Land Agency's List of addresses.
• At each address, one person aged between 16 and 59 years was asked questions about their knowledge and use of illicit drugs. A total of 2,277 respondents answered the questions on the drugs module of the NICS.
• Statistical significance tests were carried out on a range of group differences observed in the NICS findings. Where group differences emerged as statistically significant, all were at the 95% level.
  

Main Findings

• Knowledge of specific types of illicit drugs in NI is very high, with the majority of NICS respondents having heard of most illicit drugs ranging from 98% having heard of ecstasy to 63% having heard of amyl nitrite.
• While almost a quarter (24%) of all NICS respondents admitted taking at least one kind of illicit drug at some time, only 9% admitted taking them within the last year and 5% within the last month.
• The proportion of NICS respondents admitting to having ever taken illicit drugs increased from 20% in 1995 to 24% in 1998. The 1998 NICS rate of 24% was the same as the rate reported by an Omnibus Survey conducted in 1997.
• Cannabis remains the most commonly used illicit drug in NI, with 18% of 1998 NICS respondents admitting to having used cannabis compared to 16% of Omnibus Survey respondents in 1997 and 12% of 1995 NICS respondents.
• 30% of all males responding to the self-completion module in the NICS admitted taking illicit drugs at some time in their lives, their rates for taking illicit drugs in the last year and month are much lower, at 13% and 7% respectively. The BCS (1998) found that 38% of all males had tried illicit drugs at some time, 14% within the last year and 8% within the last month.
• NICS respondents aged between 16 and 29 years were approximately 5 times more likely than those aged between 30 and 59 to have used illicit drugs in the last year or in the last month. These figures are similar to those in England and Wales as reported by the BCS (1998).
• One in 20 (5%) male NICS respondents aged 16 to 29 years said they had taken ecstasy within the last month.