300,000 hard drugs users on benefits

NEARLY 300,000 heroin and crack cocaine users are claiming state benefits, a report for the Department for Work and Pensions has revealed. About 270,000 `problematic drug users' were claiming in England in 2006 - making up six per cent of working-age people on benefits. In contrast, just over one per cent of England's working-age population are estimated to be heroin or crack users - meaning benefit claimants are almost six times as likely to be using drugs. The research by the universities of Bath and Glasgow found the proportion was greater for younger age groups, with around 7.4 per cent of claimants under 25 years being drug users. More than three quarters of drug users getting benefits are male. Estimates Bath University's Dr Linda Bauld said: "This feasibility study brought together data to estimate the uptake of some... [read full story]