Seizure data for cannabis and cocaine, 2000 to 2024

FOI reference: FOI-2025-2957

You asked

I am interested in patterns and impacts of cannabis and cocaine use within the UK. As part of this research, I kindly request anonymised and aggregate data covering the period from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2024, including but not limited to the following:

Seizure Data for Cannabis and Cocaine

Please distinguish between the following types of seizures where possible.

Cannabis:

• Resin forms (e.g., hashish), including THC% levels if known
• Herbal forms under 10% THC (previously known as ganja or “legacy” cannabis varieties before the rise of high-potency domestically grown strains)
• High THC herbal forms (e.g., skunk, sinsemilla, or similar strains) with THC levels of 10% and above
• Synthetic cannabinoids (SSCs) such as Spice, K2, or HHC
• THC edible products containing tetrahydrocannabinol, with THC levels over 1mg per product
• If available, the known names of substances seized, along with THC and CBD concentration levels.

Cocaine:

• Powdered cocaine
• Crack cocaine (rock form)

If your records do not routinely differentiate by the above categories of drug forms, please confirm this in your response. If some of the requested data is not held, incomplete, or exempt from disclosure, please inform me accordingly.

Please also provide:

• Quantities seized by weight in kilograms or any other volume indicator(s) for cocaine and cannabis / resin or the number of cannabis plants or forms of SSC / edible substances (as mentioned above) for the last twenty years - on a year by year basis.
• The above seizure data broken down by the drug types and forms for trend analysis, including (but not limited to):

1. Countries of origin (where drugs were sent from), if known
   
2. Geographic location or points of entry of seizures, such as (but not limited to) shipping ports, airports, and postal services
   
3. Anonymized demographic information (age, gender, ethnicity) of individuals involved in seizures of the above drug forms
   

• Any quantitative data such as tables, graphs, or charts demonstrating the above
• Any associated qualitative data relevant to the quantitative information above

Additional Details

• Information on trafficking routes and concealment methods
• Information on seizure arrests and prosecutions, where available

We said

Thank you for your request.  

We produce statistics from two main data sources, the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) and Police Recorded Crime (PRC). Our publications and data concern crime as it is experienced by victims, or as it is recorded by the police across England and Wales.  

Unfortunately, we do not hold the specific data you require. We publish data from the CSEW on drug misuse in England and Wales in our Drug misuse in England and Wales: year ending March 2024 bulletin and accompanying tables. We also publish PRC data on drug trafficking and drug possession in our Appendix tables dataset. These data are published by the ONS on behalf of the Home Office. 

The Home Office publish statistics on drug seizures in England and Wales, which may be useful to you. This includes the number of drug seizures made as well as the quantity of drugs seized. The Home Office also publish statistics on arrests for notifiable offences. The latest data are for the year ending March 2024, and can be found on the GOV.UK website. If you have any specific questions on these data or publications, the Home Office would be best placed to help you. They can be contacted at CrimeandPoliceStats@homeoffice.gov.uk.  

If you have any other questions, please email us at crimestatistics@ons.gov.uk and we will endeavour to help.