CHILD DRUG ABUSE LEVELS `WORRYING'

Children as young as 11 are taking hard drugs - at a "worrying" level,
a survey said today. Cannabis was the most heavily used drug, but very
young schoolchildren were also turning to hard drugs, said the
research, by the Swansea-based Adolescent Assessment Service.

Seven out of every thousand 11-year-old users say they have tried
heroin and 13 out of every thousand admit trying cocaine.

Researcher Jeremy Gluck said: "The extent of substance use among
adolescents on an ongoing basis is worrying."

Peer and lifestyle pressures are believed to be factors as one in 10
16-year-old boys and one in fourteen 16-year-old girls told
researchers that although they do not take drugs now admitted they
expected to use them over the next 12 months.

At 16, nearly one in 10 boys is regularly taking drugs - with up to 2%
of them using heroin and cocaine.

The level for girls is almost as high, the Swansea-based service,
which studies the lifestyle and habits of the young says.