Heroin seizures and heroin use in Scotland

The seizure of illicit drugs is a key component of the U.K. drug strategy. Whilst information on the quantity of drugs seized and their weight is routinely collected by enforcement agencies, and released to the media, interpreting the meaning of changes in the amounts recorded is fraught with difficulty as a result of not having access to accurate information on the total amount of illegal drugs available within the UK. This article seeks to compare the quantities of heroin seized by police in Scotland with estimates of the amount of heroin consumed over a 12‐month period. The research shows that over the period 2000–2006 heroin seizures within Scotland typically amounted to around 1% of the total amount of heroin consumed. The paper discusses the possible reasons why heroin seizures may represent such a low percentage of heroin consumed and considers the implications of this work with regard to drug enforcement activities