ROW OVER 'BENIGN' DRUG USE REPORT

A new survey which claims to show that most drug-taking among young people
is "benign" has provoked fresh debate on how Scotland should lead the fight
against drugs.

The research, carried out by the drug information service Crew 2000, reveals
that 40% of young drug-takers questioned believe narcotics improve their
mental health. The survey also shows that almost twice as many young people
believe drug-taking has a positive effect on their relationship with their
partner as those who say it has damaged a relationship.

Crew 2000 will be using the findings to get across its message that most
drug-taking among young people is benign. The group insists that drug-taking
is normal behaviour among young people, and will send a summary of the
survey to ministers to encourage them to concentrate drugs policy on what it
claims is the minority who suffer problems.

The move has highlighted the conflicting messages in Scotland's fight
against drugs. The government drugs agency Scotland Against Drugs claims the
survey is misleading and that the lessons Crew 2000 is taking from it are
short-sighted.

The survey, to be published this week, comes as the first director of the
new Scottish Drugs Enforcement Agency, Jim Orr, has promised to "combat drug
misuse in all its forms".

The survey questioned people using the Crew 2000 project in the centre of
Edinburgh. Twenty-five per cent of the respondents were of school age. Sixty
per cent of those who admitted taking drugs said cannabis was their narcotic
of choice, while 23% were Ecstasy users. Around 10% said they took cocaine
while 6% admitted to taking hard drugs such as heroin.

While 40% of drug users claimed a positive effect on their mental health,
20% recorded a negative effect. Around 30% said drugs had improved their
relationship with their partner, compared to just 15% who said drug-taking
had caused them relationship problems.

Crew 2000 project manager Mike Cadger said: "No-one reported a bad
experience. The main reason people take drugs of this type is to enhance a
good experience, and that's what they have.

"We would say that for most of the time drug use among young people is
relatively benign. Within the Ecstasy-taking population the use is
relatively short-lived, and for most of them it's not going to cause many
problems. What we are saying is let's be less concerned about that bit and
provide help to those for whom drugs do cause problems. People involved in
opiate-taking are much more likely to experience problems, and society needs
to differentiate between drugs which cause harm and those which are
relatively benign.

Cadger said the overall picture was of young, often successful people who
take recreational drugs on a regular basis. "For them drug-taking is part of
normal adolescent behaviour. Large proportions of these drug-users are
middle-class. They are not being forced by someone in a long coat outside
school. For a lot of people they are making positive choices about something
they think will make them feel better."

Cadger admits evidence is building up to show that regular long-term Ecstasy
users can suffer mood swings as a result of brain damage. But he says this
will not happen to the majority of Ecstasy users. "Young people should be
aware of the fact the initial burst may be extremely positive, but in some
individuals the positive effects may begin to disappear over time. If they
find that they have to use two, three or even five tablets, they should be
concerned about that and either reduce or stop their ecstasy consumption."

But Alistair Ramsay, director of Scotland Against Drugs, said it was
imperative to dispel the idea that drug-taking is the norm among young
people, and that new strategies should be developed to congratulate those
who do not take drugs. He also maintains that many recreational drug-users
end up injecting heroin.

"Three years ago I was on the management committee of a drug rehabilitation
service for people whose lives had been totally compromised by drug-taking,"
he said. "Every one of them said they had started off taking drugs in a
benign way. They started off smoking a joint and taking recreational drugs
but ended up with a major problem.

"I think [Crew 2000's] view is short-sighted. They are not reflecting people
whose drug-taking is problematic, and we have got to question the motivation
behind this survey."