Cannabis use among young people has fallen since the Government downgraded it to a Class C drug, according to figures published yesterday.

The proportion of people aged between 16 and 24 who said that they had used cannabis in the past year fell from 25 per cent when the law was changed three years ago to 21 per cent in 2006-07, a total of about 1.3 million young people. However, the findings showed a continued rise in the use of cocaine by young people and adults. The figures also showed a significant increase in the use of amyl nitrite — the sex enhancing drug known as poppers — among adults, and an increase in glue-sniffing by young people.

For the first time, the figures from the British Crime Survey (BCS) measured the use of ketamine, a horse tranquilliser, and estimated that 100,000 adults had tried the drug in the past year. The drug, known as “special K” and “tekno”, was used by more people than crack or heroin, with 0.3 per cent admitting taking it in the previous year, including 0.8 per cent of those in the 16-24 age group.

The BCS admitted that it was likely to underestimate the overall use of heroin and crack and it did not interview people who were under 16.

Separate figures published yesterday on drug seizures in 2005 showed the impact of the policy to confiscate and warn people who are found with small amounts of cannabis. The number of cannabis seizures rose by 47 per cent to 114,202.

Gordon Brown has signalled that he may reclassify cannabis from a Class C to a Class B drug amid fears that there are links between more potent strains, known as skunk, and mental illness. He has ordered a review, which is the second since 2004.

The figures on drugs that were seized showed that the average purity of amphetamine and heroin had increased in 2004-06 but that the purity of crack declined in the same period.

Overall the figures showed that use of all Class A drugs, such as cocaine and heroin, was higher than in 1998. Almost 200,000 young people said that they had used cocaine in the month before they were questioned.

Among people aged between 16 and 24 the use of any drug fell from 31.8 per cent to 24.1 per cent between 1998 and 2006-07. An estimated 2.9 million people, or 9.1 per cent, aged between 16 and 59 had used poppers, up from 8.4 per cent the previous year. This included 766,000 young people, 103,000 of whom said that they had inhaled the drug in the past month.

Vernon Coaker, a junior Home Office Minister, said that the Government’s ten-year drug strategy had reduced drug-taking levels to their lowest in more than a decade.

Martin Barnes, the chief executive of DrugScope, a charity, said: “This is clearly encouraging news but we cannot be complacent.”

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