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Drugs: Crime

Asked by Siân BerryGreen PartyHome OfficeTabled Answered 11 September 2025UIN 71709

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made a recent estimate of the value of the illegal drugs market for (a) cannabis, (b) cocaine, and (c) opioids.

Answered by Sarah Jones

The most recent estimate of the value of the illegal drugs market for cannabis, cocaine and opioids is available as a part of the Dame Carol Black’s Independent Review of Drugs: Evidence Pack. This is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-drugs-phase-one-report

The evidence pack provides the following estimates for value of the illegal drugs market in England and Wales, measured by the amount spent on these drugs:

  • Powder cocaine: £1.9bn
  • Cannabis: £2.4bn
  • Crack cocaine: £1.3bn

Opiates: £3.8bn

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