Nearly 500 passengers were caught with drugs last year on the London Underground, Transport for London (TfL) has revealed. It comes after the 2023/24 financial year saw a five-year high for the number of drug offences committed on the Tube network.
The figures were shared in the authority’s response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, which stated that 470 drug offences had been committed on the London Underground from April 2024 to April 2025.
This represented a general decrease compared to the previous year, which saw 589 reported drug offences on the Tube network. The 2022/23 financial year had 506 recorded cases of drug offences.
The FOI case officer for TfL said that the data concerned several offences including possession and intent to supply a drug, not solely someone being seen to be physically using a drug. They said that the British Transport Police (BTP) is responsible for policing the London Underground, rail, and tram networks, while the Metropolitan Police Service polices the bus network.
They said: “We are committed to reducing crime across our network and we continue to work with our policing partners to put measures in place to reduce crime and keep customers and colleagues safe as they travel and work on our network.”
They added: “We have a large team of police officers and police community support officers as well as our own enforcement staff patrolling the network at all times to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour, alongside operations to target offenders and hotspot locations. “
The case officer said TfL encourages anyone who experiences or witnesses a crime on London Underground or rail modes to report it to the BTP by texting 61016. Customers can also report incidents to members of staff. If it is an emergency or if the suspect is still on scene, customers should call 999.
The figures comes as the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan this week called for the decriminalisation of the possession of small quantities of natural cannabis, claiming current rules on the topic ‘cannot be justified’. The Mayor said a report by the independent London Drugs Commission (LDC) published on Wednesday, May 28, had provided ‘a compelling, evidence-based case’ for decriminalisation, urging the UK Government to consider the move.
The LDC was set up by Sir Sadiq in 2022 and is chaired by former lord chancellor Lord Charlie Falconer. It found that the current laws on cannabis were ‘disproportionate to the harms it can pose’ following a study of how the drug is policed around the world, adding that cannabis policing ‘continues to focus on particular ethnic communities’, damaging relations between the police and those communities.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley commented on the topic during an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, saying that drugs continued to be at the centre of a lot of crime. He said: “We see a lot of communities complaining about public drug use, and that’s a big issue in terms of anti-social behaviour.”
He added: “We’re chasing around people who are using drugs in public, which is a concern to communities. We see drug users becoming addicted and that driving acquisitive crime. It’s a big part in our current operations.”
Dr Lade Smith CBE, President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: “Cannabis is the most widely used illicit substance in the UK, and around a third of people who use cannabis develop a problem with the drug at some point during their lives. This is a similar proportion to people who will develop a problem with alcohol. Despite this, there is a widespread misapprehension that cannabis is not an addictive substance.
“The use of both natural and ‘synthetic’ cannabinoids over the long-term risks addiction and severe co-occurring mental illness harms. Daily cannabis use is associated with depression, anxiety and reduced motivation. At worst, it makes people up to five times more likely to develop a psychotic disorder, with adolescents at particular risk.
“We agree with the London Drugs Commission’s ambition to focus on a public health approach to cannabis use especially given the disproportionately negative impact cannabis use has on younger people. And though we also welcome an examination of the danger of synthetic cannabinoids, it is important not to underestimate the potential harms caused by natural cannabis. Some of the most potent cannabis found on our streets is natural in origin.
“As a priority, the UK Governments must provide substance use and mental health services with the training, staff, and funding they need to support people with co-occurring substance use and mental illness. The RCPsych has recently published a report on co-occurring substance use and mental illness. This can be used to support the implementation of a co-ordinated approach, across England, in which patients are managed based on the severity of their illness and level of need.”
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