MIDDLE class professionals and clubbers are using crack cocaine as the drug has become “fashionable”, a Government report yesterday warned.
Dealers are “infiltrating” groups of university students to sell the highly addictive drug.
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And they are luring buyers in with supermarket-style free offers or 3 for 2 deals with other drugs.
The alarming findings are laid bare in a shocking new report by the Home Office and Public Health England (PHE).
It states: “Service users reported that crack use was beginning to become more acceptable, even fashionable among groups who would not previously have taken it.
“This included professionals, students and clubbers.
“In one area with a large university student population, there was a view that dealers were successfully infiltrating these groups.”
One parent told the report their 17 year-old daughter and her pals take crack as a party drug.
Dealers are using savvy marketing to flog their drugs, sending texts with the latest “special offers” and announcing “happy hours”.
The report also lashed the “lack of police focus on drugs”.
It warned a cut to the number of police on the streets has undermined the war on drugs.
It added: “Some police officers reported that their forces no longer had dedicated drugs squads.”
Rosanna O’Connor, director for drugs at PHE, said: “This report will come as no surprise to those working on the front line, who will have seen first-hand this surge in crack use in their communities.”
Crime Minister Victoria Atkins said: “The Government is committed to tackling the illicit drugs trade, protecting the most vulnerable and helping those with a drug dependency to recover.”
