Subj: Drugs 'tried by a quarter of 13-year-olds'



Source: The Daily Telegraph (UK)



Pubdate: 4 September 1999





ubject: Drugs 'tried by a quarter of 13-year-olds'

By Philip Johnston, Home Affairs Editor



ONE in four 13-year-olds at schools taking part in a government-backed

drugs survey had taken illegal substances, mostly cannabis, according to

researchers. By the age of 15, more than half had tried at least one drug.



The three-year study has so alarmed ministers that a survey of schools

throughout England is to be conducted to see if the figures are the same

elsewhere. It coincided with research showing that cocaine is replacing

ecstasy as the fashionable drug among young people. Figures published

yesterday showed a significant increase in the drug's use in the 16 to 29

age group.



The school project covered 2,500 children aged 13 to 16 in a dozen

secondary and middle schools in four towns in Northumbria and West

Yorkshire. On average, the younger children were given pounds 13 a week

pocket money and the older childen ponds 20, supplemented by earnings from

part-time jobs.



The survey showed that by the age of 13, 26 per cent of the children had

tried at least one drug, rising to 51 per cent at 15 and 56 per cent at 16.

Although cannabis and amphetamines were easily the most common drugs, there

were also higher-than-expected rates of heroin use.



More children were being exposed to drugs at a much earlier age than

before. By 13, 40 per cent had been in situations where drugs were offered

or available. These included solvents, "magic mushrooms", LSD and nitrites

as well as cannabis.





By the age of 16, 14 per cent of young people had been in situations where

heroin was available or offered. In one area of Northumbria, 33 per cent of

13-year-olds had tried drugs. The research also found that children in

one-parent households were more likely to use drugs.



Officials said it was impossible to say whether the findings were

nationally representative before the national survey later this year. Paul

Wiles, director of the Home Office Research Development and Statistics

Directorate, said: "This should help to put the findings from Northumbria

and West Yorkshire in better perspective. We know that drug use in the

North of England could be especially high."



The authors of the study say drug taking is no longer a minority pastime

but involves millions of "ordinary" young people who are not from

underprivileged backgrounds. The marked fall in the age at which drugs were

being tried suggested regular drug use was likely in later life.



Mike O'Brien, Home Office minister, said the figures showed the importance

of informing young people about the dangers of drugs. But Andrew Lansley,

Conservative spokesman, accused the Government of "complacency" and said

there was no evidence of progress in cutting drug misuse by young people.



A separate study based on the findings of the 1998 British Crime Survey

showed that increasing numbers of young people were trying cocaine. Experts

said that falling prices and cocaine's association with the wealthy and

famous were helping fuel the boom. Fears over the safety of the "dance

drug" ecstasy may also be responsible for the rise.



However, the increase appears to be largely confined to London and

Merseyside. A feared heroin epidemic among the young had not materialised.