Survey: marijuana use falls in Britain

LONDON, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- The latest British Crime Survey figures suggest that cannabis use by the country's young people has fallen since marijuana was reclassified in 2004.

The British Home Office released figures indicating that the percentage of young people between the ages of 16 and 24 who have used cannabis in the past year fell to 21 percent -- about 1.3 million people -- in 2006-2007 from 25 percent in 2004, The Guardian reported Thursday.

The figures also showed a 54 percent rise in the number of cannabis seizures since the "confiscate and warn" policy was adopted by police in 2004.

Among all age groups questioned in the government survey, 10 percent admitted to using an illegal drug in the past year. The percentage was the lowest since statistics were first compiled in 1996.

However, the figures indicated a rise in cocaine powder use, with 2.6 percent of adults saying they had used it in the past year.