Two year study reveals gay people 'seven times more likely to take illegal drugs than general population'

One in five show signs of dependency on drugs or alcohol according to study by university Cannabis, 'poppers', cocaine, and ecstasy among the most widely used

By Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 13:18 EST, 23 September 2012 | UPDATED: 13:45 EST, 23 September 2012

Gay people are seven times more likely to take illegal drugs than the general population, a new study conducted over two years has found.

And one in five show signs of dependency on drugs or alcohol.

The report, conducted by the Lesbian and Gay Foundation (LGF) and the University of Central Lancashire, sampled more than 4,000 people over two years.

New study: The research claims gay people are seven times more likely to take illegal drugs than the straight population

More than a third of gay, lesbian and bisexual people took at least one illegal drug in the last month, according to the study - the largest of its kind to date.

This compares to 5 per cent of the wider population who admitted using a drug in the last month in the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW).

According to the researchers the most widely used substances among those surveyed were party drugs such as cannabis and 'poppers' - a liquid nitrite sold in a small bottle and inhaled.

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Two year study reveals gay people 'seven times more likely to take illegal drugs than general population'