By
Alice Philipson
A record
number of pensioners are being admitted to hospital after taking recreational
drugs as the Swinging Sixties generation reaches old age, new figures have
shown.
Nearly
900 people aged 65 and over received hospital treatment last year after taking
illegal drugs such as cocaine, cannabis and amphetamines.
David
Raynes, of the National Drug Prevention Alliance, told The Sunday Times: “We
are getting to the period where people who grew up in the Sixties are of that
age.
“People
who have used drugs their whole lives will start to hit the NHS.”
The
figures, published by the NHS, show more than half of the drug admissions
involve men and women aged 75 and over – pensioners who would have been in
their twenties during the era of experimental drug taking.
In total,
888 pensioners were diagnosed as being poisoned by illegal drugs in English
hospitals last year, with 473 aged 75 and over.
A
decade ago the number was 283.
Harry
Shapiro, of DrugScope, warned drug treatment should prepare for an influx of
ageing drug users.
“Drug
and alcohol treatment services need to be adequately resourced to deal with
this ageing client group,” he said.
A
separate study by King’s College London found cannabis, cocaine and amphetamine
use by people aged over 50 had risen dramatically since the early 1990s.
It
predicted that illicit drug taking would become more common in pensioners over
the next two decades.
Study
co-author Robert Stewart said the explanation could be that “these people would
have grown up during ages when it was considered more acceptable”.
However,
many celebrity figures who glamorised drug taking in the 60s have announced
they are giving up to pursue healthier lifestyles.
Sir
Paul McCartney said last year it was finally time to give up smoking cannabis
due to a “sense of responsibility” in caring for his daughter Beatrice, then
aged eight.
The
former Beatle said: “I smoked my share. When you’re bringing up a youngster,
your sense of responsibility does kick in, if you’re lucky, at some point.
“Enough’s
enough – you just don’t seem to think it’s necessary.”
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