Statistics on misuse of drugs have been misused

BMJ 1998;317:1388 ( 14 November )

Letters

Statistics on misuse of drugs have been misused

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR $---$ The government's anti-drugs strategy places great emphasis on reducing drug related crime.¹ Part of its concernis based on evidence of high drug use among offenders and theassumption that crime is driven by the need to finance drug useand may be prevented if problem drug users are diverted into treatment.The white paper reports that "latest indications from a randomsample of suspected offenders arrested by the police suggest thatover 60% of arrestees have traces of illegal drugs in their urine."It also emphasises the importance of evidence and informationin developing the strategy.² The notion that 60% of all arrestedpeople give urine samples that are positive for drugs has enteredpolicy debate as "evidence." But this evidence is based on shakyground if we examine the report from which it is derived.³

Urine testing was conducted in five police areas for different periods . . . [Full text of this article]

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