Subj: UK: Two-thirds of teens try drugs



PubDate: 10 Sep, 1998



Source: BBC Online 







Two-thirds of teens try drugs 



Two-thirds of teenagers have tried illegal drugs and around 

a third are recreational drug users. 



The finding comes as the result of a five-year study of 

teenagers' drug habits and offers the first solid evidence 

of a culture shift towards recreational drug use in the UK. 



The study also found that teenagers were using drugs 

intelligently and made rational decisions to guide their 

drug-taking. 



Research fellows from the department of Social Policy and 

Social Work at Manchester University followed the progress 

of 500 youths from the age of 14 until they were 18. 



Ordinary youths 



The report authors say these were ordinary adolescents who 

led conventional lives and are now in work or at university. 



By the time the subjects were 18, 64% had tried illicit 

drugs while around three in 10 were recreational drug users. 



The researchers defined recreational use as "non-dependent, 

not using hard drugs". 



Most of those who used drugs wanted to limit their use to 

avoid becoming addicted. 



They also weighed up the risks of their drug-taking by 

considering the possibility of being caught by adults, 

feeling ill, losing self-control and dying. 



However, they identified being relaxed and having energy, a 

special awareness of their surroundings and increased 

sociability as benefits of drug use. 



Judith Aldridge, one of the study's authors, said: "Most are 

careful and rational consumers, who plan their drug use to 

occur with friends in places they feel safe and secure. 



"They often report feeling relaxed, friendly, happy, 

carefree and confident. These good experiences many times 

outweigh the bad, especially for drugs like cannabis, 

amphetamines and ecstasy." 



Regular use 



Co-author Fiona Measham added: "We live in a society where 

recreational drug use is becoming normalised. 



"This does not mean everyone is using drugs, but there is a 

shift underway with most young people regularly in 

situations where drugs are on offer." 



Those who chose not to take drugs were forced to remake the 

decision frequently due to the widespread availability of 

drugs. 



An early decision not to take drugs was by no means 

permanent, the researchers found. 



Some teenagers who consistently said no to drugs during 

their school career took ecstasy once they got to 

university. 



Widely accommodated 



The study, called Illegal Leisure: The Normalization of 

Adolescent Recreational Drug Use, concludes that 

recreational drug use "has been widely accommodated amongst 

British youth". 



This is despite the fact that the subjects are part of a 

generation which has frequently received preventive "say no" 

education on drug use, the researchers point out. 



Ms Measham said there was a blurring between illegal drugs 

such as cannabis and legal ones such as alcohol or tobacco 

in youth culture. 



She added that there was "an increasing cultural belief that 

we can take drugs like Prozac or Viagra to improve our 

performance, appearance, mood or leisure time".