Rising numbers of older and female cannabis users seeking treatment in England and Wales

Presentations to specialist drug treatment services in England for cannabis have been rising in recent years. As cannabis is no longer disaggregated in annual reports of drug treatment presentations published by Public Health England, we requested access to a detailed data-set to explore the treatment population in more detail. Analysis of the data revealed two important issues which were not apparent in the published reports. Males and females over the age of 40 are a rapidly growing sub-group. This reflects the parallel growth in those in treatment primarily for problems due to opiates.