The Guardian reported Dec. 7 that cocaine-related arrests rose 16 percent between 2003 and 2004, even as the country's justice system dealt with fewer heroin and ecstasy related offenses. Overall, Class A drug-related offenses rose 2 percent in the U.K. last year, Britain's Home Office reported.

A government spokesperson attributed the rise in cocaine cases to better law enforcement. "The government's strategy is to focus on the drugs which cause the most harm and deal robustly with those who supply them," a Home Office spokesperson said. The U.K. has recently downgraded law-enforcement efforts targeting marijuana in order to devote more resources to harder drugs.

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