From pub toilets and private parties to football terraces and far-right marches, cocaine has become a familiar presence across modern Britain.
asserted
cocaine → become → Britain
Deaths linked to the drug have risen to record levels, while its supply supports a multibillion-pound criminal industry.
asserted
supply → link → industry
But who is using the drug, and how has the picture changed?
asserted
picture → use → drug
The figures do not necessarily show millions of new users, but highlight an established market in which some people take more cocaine, more often – and face greater harm as they grow older.
asserted
they → show → harm
In June this year the scientists at the Home Office published a new experimental estimate of cocaine consumption.
asserted
scientists → publish → consumption
Samples taken from sewage suggested that cocaine use rose by 26% between 2021 and 2025.
uncertain
use → take → 2021
They estimated that people in England consumed 123,000kg of cocaine in 2024-25: the equivalent of roughly 2.5bn lines, with an estimated street value of £9.8bn.
asserted
people → estimate → 9.8bn
Yet crime survey data suggests the number of people reporting cocaine use in the past year has remained flat or fallen slightly since the pandemic.
uncertain
number → suggest → pandemic
One explanation is that a similar or smaller number of people are using the drug more frequently.
asserted
number → use → drug
Another is that the survey excludes people who are homeless or living in institutions, and some respondents may be reluctant to admit to illegal drug use.
uncertain
respondents → exclude → use
Dr Josh Torrance, a specialist in drug markets, says wastewater analysis can reveal use that surveys miss.
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surveys → say → that
Having surveyed festivalgoers, he said: “People are often not honest about their drug use with strangers.”
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People → survey → strangers
Although sewage estimates have substantial margins of error, and the estimated street value should be taken with a pinch of salt, the direction of travel is broadly accurate.
asserted
direction → have → travel
For several years, the market offered cocaine at falling prices.
asserted
market → offer → prices
The National Crime Agency (NCA) told the Guardian that wholesale prices dropped below pre-pandemic levels in 2022 and reached “historically low levels” in 2025.
asserted
prices → tell → 2025
However, it has seen signs that wholesale prices are rising again in 2026.
asserted
prices → see → 2026
Torrance tracks advertised prices for an ounce of cocaine from a pool of vendors.
asserted
Torrance → track → vendors
He says the price fell from about £1,300 in March 2022 to about £1,000 by August 2023.
asserted
price → say → August
When he resumed collecting data in September 2025, it was about £700.
asserted
it → resume → September
That remained steady until June this year, when it rose to roughly £800; in July it reached £1,000.
asserted
it → remain → 1,000
By September it had eased to about £950.
asserted
it → ease → 950
“I’ve never seen such a quick increase in the price of cocaine,” he says of the summer rise.
asserted
he → see → rise
He suspects a supply disruption, but says the cause is difficult to pin down in a market with many suppliers and routes.
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cause → suspect → suppliers
High purity means that cheaper supply is more dangerous.
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supply → mean → ?
Torrance says cocaine sold as “pure” is often about 70-80% pure, and a more diluted tier (sometimes marketed as “social cocaine”) may be about 60%.
uncertain
tier → say → cocaine
The NCA says wholesale purity has remained high in recent years.
asserted
purity → say → years
In Torrance’s view, “a reduced price drives up use.
asserted
price → reduce → use
With increased use and increased purity, you end up with more deaths.”
asserted
you → increase → deaths
White lines, grey hairs
Crime survey data – while subject to caveats – shows younger people are still the most likely to use the drug, but that use is falling among the young, and rising among older age groups.
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use → show → groups
Other statistics back this up.
asserted
statistics → back → this
In England, 33,612 people started treatment for cocaine problems in 2024-25 – up 57% from 2019-20 – which also suggests an increase in frequent users.
uncertain
which → start → users
Millennials seem to be the generation with the most problematic use.
asserted
Millennials → seem → use
People in their 30s were the largest age group seeking help.
asserted
People → seek → help
“We’ve seen a cohort of cocaine users age and continue to use cocaine,” says Torrance.
asserted
Torrance → see → cocaine
Police recorded almost 30,000 crimes mentioning the word cocaine in 2025.
asserted
Police → record → 2025
Most were drug offences, but 18% were violent crimes, including stalking and harassment and one murder case.
asserted
% → include → stalking
About 4% were sexual offences, including 344 rapes.
asserted
% → include → rapes
A police record mentioning cocaine does not by itself demonstrate cocaine use but the figures do give an indication of the direction of travel.
asserted
figures → mention → travel
Home Office figures suggest that nearly six in 10 police drug tests carried out on people arrested on suspicion of domestic abuse were positive for cocaine between July 2025 and June this year.
asserted
tests → suggest → July
Those tested may be more likely to have used drugs than other domestic abuse suspects, but the figures highlight cocaine’s exacerbating role.
uncertain
figures → test → role
…and 9 more, not listed.
The Aporia
