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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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Drug-taking 'part of modern life' Richard Ford The Times, UK Wednesday 05 Nov 1997 DRUG-TAKING is no longer the hallmark of rebels, losers and couch potatoes but part of the consumer lifestyle enjoyed by young people, according to a report published today. Most people aged 16-24 using drugs recreationally are sociable and sensible rather than deviant, the report says. It condemns conventional images of drug users and says that they are highly knowledgeable about the substances they take and the role they play in their lives. Drug-takers are no less moral than young people in general, the report, The Substance of Youth, published by the Joseph Rowntree Trust, says. "Most recreational drug-taking takes place as part of a consumer lifestyle, not a deviant one." The report says there is no overall drug culture in Britain and highlights differences across the country. In Wythenshawe, Manchester, taking drugs is a sign of conformity rather than rebellion while in fashionable circles of London and other major cities, drug-taking may be about innovation in style. The study by the independent think-tank Demos warns the Government that it would make no progress tackling drugs effectively until the conventional image of drug-takers is dispelled. Any "battle" against drugs would fail. One of the authors of the report warned the Government of the danger of allowing Keith Hellawell, its new Anti-Drugs Co-ordinator, to be portrayed as someone at war with youth culture. Mr Hellawell welcomed the report as providing a further insight into the complexities of drug misuse among young people.
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