UK crime agency: ‘Drugs have never been more dangerous’

The head of the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has warned that there has “never been a more dangerous time” to take illegal drugs.

Speaking as the NCA published its latest National Strategic Assessment, Director General Graeme Biggar said drug deaths have soared by 60 per cent over the last ten years, resulting in one of the highest rates in Europe.

The Agency highlighted that the UK’s drug threat has increased due to the prevalence of synthetic drugs, cocaine and imported cannabis. There were 230 deaths linked to synthetic nitazenes over the last year, which can lead to overdoses in “very small quantities”.

Nitazenes

Biggar stated: “It’s a relatively small proportion of drug deaths but it has been growing and it is significant. From nitazenes, you can absolutely die the very first time you take it and, very often, you don’t know you are taking it.”

The NCA also reported that cannabis is the most common illegal drug in the UK, with an estimated 2.5 million users.

The Agency said that liberalised drug laws in other countries have increased cannabis importation, with more than double the volume seized at the UK border in 2023 than 2022.

‘Destroying lives’

Earlier this year, it was revealed that drug-related murders account for 52 per cent of all cases in England and Wales.

Using Home Office data, the Office for National Statistics found that 1,627 of the 3,148 murders committed between April 2018 and March 2023 were linked to drugs.

The Home Office records drug-related murders as “any case involving a drug user or drug dealer, or that is related to drugs in any way”.

The Christian Institute’s Ciarán Kelly commented: “The evidence is clear: illegal drugs destroy lives and families and rip apart the fabric of society. They are a blight on our country and need to be treated as such. Any talk of decriminalisation has to stop”.