Illicit drug use, unemployment, and occupational attainment

In this paper, we use data from the British Crime Survey (BCS) to examine t he effect of illicit drug use on labour market outcomes. We find very littl e evidence to support any relationship between drug use, hard or soft, and occupational attainment. However, we find compelling evidence to suggest th at drug use, particularly the use of opiates, cocaine and crack cocaine, is associated with an increased risk of unemployment, regardless of age or ge nder. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. JEL classificatio n: C51; I12; J24.