Generation Sensible? How Gen Z-ers are shunning drugs, with usage rates in students having HALVED since the 90s as speed, cocaine, ecstasy, cannabis and hippy crack fall out of favour

• The overall drug usage drop among Gen Zers was only among men, experts say
• 16-to-24-year old ecstasy and nitrous oxide use slumped to new record lows

Drug use among students has fallen to the lowest level in a decade, with cannabis, hippy crack, speed and ecstasy massively falling out of favour with Gen Z.

Official figures released today show how one in six 16-24 year olds took any illegal substances in the year ending March 2023.

For comparison, close to a third of Gen X students in the late 1990s experimented with drugs like ecstasy and cocaine during their party years. 

Despite the overall drop, today’s young adults are taking more ketamine than their previous generations.

The Office for National Statistics report mirrors a swathe of data showing society’s youngest cohort are drinking less alcohol and shunning red meat.

Experts suggested the current squeeze on incomes, disruptive effect of Covid and changes in pricing of drugs may also have impacted drug use. 

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REVEALED: The most common drugs taken by 16-24 year olds

Cannabis 15.4%

Powder cocaine 5.1%

Nitrous oxide 4.2%

Ketamine 3.8%

Hallucinogens 2.8%

Ecstasy 2.4%

Magic mushrooms 1.9%

LSD 1.5%

New psychoactive substances 1.4%

Tranquillisers 0.9%

% indicates proportion reporting use of the drug in the past year 

Ecstasy use slumped to record lows among 16-24 year olds, the figures showed. 

Just 2.4 per cent said they took the drug, also known as MDMA, in the last year. Rates were twice as high at the turn of the century.

ONS experts did not explain what was behind the drop.  

However, it comes amid a spike in teens dying from taking the pills at nightclubs, parties and on holidays. 

Hippy crack use also plunged to an all-time low, with just 4.2 per cent confessing to having inhaled nitrous oxide in the last year, compared to nine per cent six years ago.

Nitrous oxide, sold in single-use silver canisters that litter the streets and parks of Britain, is dispensed into balloons and inhaled to create a temporary feeling of relaxation and euphoria.

The downturn comes amid warnings about the lead side effects, including dizziness, weakness in the legs and impaired memory.

The ONS report, based on a survey of more than 31,000 people and collected by the Crime Survey for England and Wales, took place before the Government’s ban on hippy crack.

In November, under plans to tackle the blight of anti-social behaviour, the drug was classified as a controlled Class C drug, making possession of nitrous oxide illegal. 

Cannabis use also dipped among teens, although it was still the most popular, the ONS figures showed.

Use of cocaine also fell slightly (from 5.3 per cent in 2020 to 5.1 per cent).

Rates are still three times higher than in the 90s, however, in a trend that clinics have blamed on the white powder’s increased popularity among the middle classes, as well as it becoming cheaper and easier to get than pizza.  

The overall downturn was ‘mainly driven’ by men, the data suggested.

LSD (1.5 per cent) and magic mushroom (1.9 per cent) usage, however, went up. 

Class B substance ketamine also logged its highest ever level (3.8 per cent), up a fifth on 2020. 

Special K, Ket, or Kit Kat was popular as a party drug in the late 1990s, when it was commonly taken at all-night raves. 

But its popularity slipped in the 2000s when it became a Schedule III drug and concerns were raised over side effects including hallucinations and, in rare cases, seizures.

Campaigners have called it a ‘campus killer’, with it linked to dozens of deaths over the past few years. 

There was also a slight uptick in the use of opioids (0.2 per cent) on 2020 (0.1 per cent). These include drugs like Fentanyl and pain relievers available legally by prescription. 

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Experts hailed the overall drop as ‘encouraging’ but warned the figures could be ‘masking worrying new trends in drug use’. 

Ian Hamilton, as associate professor of addiction at the University of York, told MailOnline that the data ‘reflects the ever changing popularity of illegal drugs’. 

He said: ‘Some of the changes will reflect the availability and pricing of drugs as some become more affordable and easy to source.

‘The rise in hallucinogens such as LSD and mushrooms could reflect not only greater availability but a perception that they are less dangerous as some social media platforms and businesses promote their healing properties. 

‘Unfortunately any health benefit is unlikely to be gained from illicit supply.’

He added: ‘I suspect the recent widely reported problems with nitrous oxide could be having an impact on their popularity, as some people might be more wary of risking problems such as nerve damage that have affected a small proportion of those using the substance.

‘It is important to look at overall trends in drug use rather than a single year. What is clear is that females continue to catch up with males in terms of overall drug use, something that needs to be considered and acted on by policy makers and those providing specialist drug treatment.’

Meanwhile, David Fothergill, chair of the Local Government Association’s community wellbeing board said: ‘Although it is encouraging that rates of drug misuse have remained stable, this is masking worrying new trends in drug use. 

‘We are particularly concerned to see a rise in the use of new synthetic opioids and benzodiazepines which substantially raise the risk of incredibly serious harm to the user and are believed to be linked to a number of drug related deaths.’

Benzodiazepines include Xanax and Valium, addictive prescription drugs. 

The ONS’ report, which was suspended during Covid, also records the wider usage among society, including how often they were taken. 

Hippy crack use also plunged to an all-time low, with just 4.2 per cent confessing to having inhaled nitrous oxide in the last year, compared to nine per cent six years ago. Nitrous oxide, sold in single-use silver canisters that litter the streets and parks of Britain, is dispensed into balloons and inhaled to create a temporary feeling of relaxation and euphoria. The downturn comes amid warnings about the lead side effects, including dizziness, weakness in the legs and impaired memory

Figures suggested there was little change in usage among 16 to 59-years-old (9.5 per cent) compared to 2020.

The drop in drug usage among 16 to 24-year-olds comes as surveys have repeatedly shown Gen Zers are also far more likely to ditch alcohol, meat and even petrol cars than previous generations. 

Data suggests they are less likely to binge on alcohol, drinking 20 per cent less per capita than even millennials.  

According to a Home Office report, class A drug use in England and Wales has been estimated to cost the UK taxpayer over £15bn, mostly through drug-related crime.

Under the 1971 the Misuse of Drugs Act, drugs are put into three different classes.

Substances including cocaine and crack, ecstasy, MDMA and heroin fall under Class A, while codeine, ketamine and cannabis are deemed Class B. 

So-called ‘date rape’ drug GHB, anabolic steroids and the stimulant khat, meanwhile, are among Class C drugs. 

Under current drug laws, those in possession of Class A drugs face up to seven years in prison, an unlimited fine or both. Anyone caught supplying or producing can face a life prison sentence, an unlimited fine or both. 

People caught in possession of Class B face up to five years in prison, while anyone caught carrying Class Cs can be jailed for two years.

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