For the past two decades the Survey on Health and Use on National Defence and Citizenship Day (ESCAPAD) conducted by the OFDT has made it possible to quantify the use of psychoactive substance by 17-year-olds at a regional level.
In recent years (2016-2020), an average of 180 000 people have been arrested every year by law enforcement services (police and gendarmerie) for a drug law offence in France.
This overview describes and evaluates the current crack cocaine situation in Île-de-France in order, in particular, to improve the treatment of users and, more generally, the response of the public authorities to a phenomenon that has been identified for around thirty years.
Up until the last few years in France, the treatment of cocaine users was not considered a priority for health professionals dealing with drug users.
The city of Paris seems to be particularly affected by illegal drugs, judging from health statistics (treatment requests, syringe exchange programmes, etc.) and police statistics (stopping and questioning people for drug dealing or drug taking).
The ESCAPAD survey, set up in 2000 by the OFDT with the logistical support of the Central bureau for the National Service (DCSN), contributes, every year, to reporting the trends in the use of psychoactive products among young French people.