Correspondence

Drivers of powder cocaine use in young people and adults: ACMD call for evidence

Updated 30 August 2023

This was published under the 2022 to 2024 Sunak Conservative government

Completing and returning the questionnaire

Although your expertise may be better suited to tackling only a subset of the following questions, it would be helpful if you were to consider every question in the questionnaire.

Where possible, please provide supporting evidence in your response. The ACMD considers a wide range of evidence as part of its advice, including published literature, statistics, data from UK organisations and expert and stakeholder opinions.

A free text box has been included in the questionnaire (Section 7) for respondents to include any comments relating to the drivers of powder cocaine use in young people and adults that they feel have not been covered by this questionnaire.

Please return your submission by filling in the word version of this document and emailing it to the ACMD Secretariat at: acmd@homeoffice.gov.uk.

Please return your submission by 2 October 2023.

How we will use your information

Respondents should note that evidence submitted will inform the development of recommendations from the ACMD and could ultimately be published. However, in the interest of confidentiality and protecting commercial interests, any information submitted will be non-attributable.

All data submitted in response to this Call for Evidence will be protected by the ACMD Secretariat in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Furthermore, Section 43(1) of the Freedom of Information Act provides an exemption for information which is a trade secret, whilst Section 43(2) exempts information whose disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any person (an individual, a company, the public authority itself or any other legal entity).

Section 1: About yourself / your organisation

Q1. Please indicate below if the following statement is applicable:

My submission should be considered a personal response reflecting my professional experience in this area and therefore not representative of the organisation I work for.

My submission should be considered as representative of the organisation I work for.

Q2. Please describe either the nature of your organisation or your personal expertise within this area.

Section 2: Powder cocaine use amongst young people and adults

Q3. Do you have evidence around the prevalence and patterns of powder cocaine use by the following populations?

Under 16 years old

16-24 years old

25+ years old

Q3a. Please expand fully on the evidence around prevalence below.

Q3b. Please expand fully on the evidence around patterns of use and user behaviours below. Please include any evidence around how you believe patterns of use have been changed.

Q3c. Do you have any evidence around trends or patterns in powder cocaine use for specific groups you work with e.g. university students, nightlife patrons, people who inject drugs?

If yes, please provide details and supporting evidence.

Section 3: Drivers of powder cocaine use

Q4. Do you have evidence of insights that the following factors have led to changes in powder cocaine use?

Q4a. Availability

This evidence can come in many forms and may include (but is not limited to) professional experience and observations, local intelligence, and formal evidence and study findings.

If yes, please provide details and your supporting evidence.

Q4b. Affordability

This may be evidence of greater actual or perceived affordability of cocaine, or affordability in relation to products such as alcohol and other drugs. Please consider how changes in affordability may have affected use.

If yes, please provide details and supporting evidence.

Q4c. Social acceptability

Evidence on the acceptability of cocaine use in the general population, people who use cocaine, and those who might be considering use. Include evidence on how this might affect use.

If yes, please provide details and your supporting evidence.

Q4d. Visibility and ease of access

Evidence on the visibility (e.g. in night time economy settings) and accessibility of powder cocaine, and how this may drive user behaviour.

If yes, please provide details and your supporting evidence.

Q4e. Perception of risk

Evidence around the perceived risk of powder cocaine use, how this impacts user behaviour. Include evidence on risk of health and social harms, and perceived risk to people who use cocaine and risk to others.

If yes, please provide details and your supporting evidence.

Q4f. Specific user behaviour

Evidence of specific user behaviour driving powder cocaine use. For example this could include:

• Use alongside alcohol
• Use in public settings (the night time economy, festivals, unlicensed parties)
• Use in private settings

If yes, please provide details and your supporting evidence.

Q4g. If you are aware of any other drivers of powder cocaine use not mentioned above, please expand upon these, with supporting evidence, below.

Section 4: The risks and impact of powder cocaine use amongst young people and adults

Q5. Are you aware of differences in risk to users from powder cocaine based on the age of the user?

If yes, please provide details and supporting evidence.

Q6. Are you aware of reasons why young people who start using powder cocaine continue into adulthood?

If yes, please provide details and supporting evidence.

Section 5: Prevention, early intervention and harm reduction of powder cocaine use amongst young people and adults

Q7. Are you aware of any evidence around the effectiveness of methods of prevention, early intervention and harm reduction specifically targeted at powder cocaine use?

Include, for example, interventions you have developed and evaluated, reviews or briefings you may have written. Please do not include a general review of the literature on this topic.

If yes, please provide details and supporting evidence.

Section 6: Powdered cocaine use and the treatment population

Q8. Are you aware of any evidence around the changes in the use behaviours of powder cocaine within the treatment population? For example, this may be injecting powder cocaine.

If yes, please provide details and supporting evidence.

Q9. Are you aware of any evidence around the emerging physical and mental health risks associated with IV use of powder cocaine?

This would be specific risks associated with powder cocaine injection, such as greater risk of abscesses. Please do not include general information on the harms of injection.

If yes, please provide details and supporting evidence.

Section 7: Any other comments

Please include any information such as relevant links to webpages, reports, or international projects in progress.