How many (a) registered addicts, (b) sei'ures, (c) crimes, (d) arrests, (e) convictions and (f) deaths in relation to illegal drug supply a…

The term "registered addict" is no longer used. Research commissioned by the Executive concluded that there were around 56,000 people in Scotland misusing opiates and benzodiazepines in 2000. A similar study will be undertaken this year.Information on drug seizures, drug-related offences, convictions for drug-related offences, and drug-related deaths can be obtained from the Drug Misuse Statistics Scotland 2002 which were published electronically by the Information and Statistics Division on 31 January. The statistics can be accessed at www.drugmisuse.isdscotland.org. Criminal statistics cover recorded crimes, rather than the numbers of people arrested, and breakdowns by drug type are not available for every category requested.There is no comprehensive information on the costs of drug-related crime in Scotland which, for example, includes estimates of social and economic costs beyond the public sector. However, a Scottish Executive Policy Unit review in 2000 provided a broad estimate that aggregate expenditure by public sector organisations in Scotland (including enforcement activities, court proceedings, health and social care, support for families and children) is over £330 million per annum.