OBJECTIVES: Long-term informal caregiving to a family or friend can become an adversity to carers by shocking their study, work or social activities. For this adversity, some carers may seek a solution from using illicit drugs. This study examines whether informal caregiving increases the risk of illicit drug use for carers in England and Wales.

METHODS: The sample contains 5725 observations aged 16 and over from the Crime Survey for England and Wales between 2013 and 2020. A Probit model is used to measure the effect of informal caregiving on the probability of illicit drug use. The study also analyses whether receiving a state benefit such as Carer's Allowance reduces the risk of illicit drug use for informal carers. The subgroup analysis includes carers who are in low-income households and who are young people (aged 16 to 24) not in education, employment or training.

RESULTS: Informal carers are likely to use illicit drugs by 13.69%. After the receipt of state benefits, the likelihood of illicit drug use drops to 8.76%. For low-income households, carers are with the probability of 16.12% to use substances. With state benefits, the probability decreases to 11.95%. For young people not in education, employment or training, they are possible to use substances by 22.96%. If they receive state benefits, the possibility declines to 12.17%.

CONCLUSIONS: Informal caregiving increases the risk of illicit drug use in England and Wales. Informal carers may use illicit drugs to solve negative emotions or escape from adversities during caregiving to a family or friend. This finding urges more external support on emotions and mental health for informal carers. In addition, external financial support can reduce the risk of illicit drug use by easing money worries for carers, especially for young carers not in education, employment or training.