MIDDLE-CLASS YOUTHS DRIVE DRUG BOOM

DRUG-TAKING among well-educated teenagers from stable families is now the
fastest growing area of the illegal drugs market, the Government's
anti-drugs coordinator gave warning yesterday.

Most of the high-flying, ambitious youngsters who are destined for
universities become involved in drugs through the dance and club scenes,
Keith Hellawell said. Drug-taking has become so popular among the children
of middle-class professionals that independent schools are under pressure to
relax strict anti-drugs rules, he said.

He gave warning to youngsters against being influenced by the drug-taking
exploits of show business stars and members of the aristocracy, but Mr
Hellawell praised the Oasis star Noel Gallagher for a recent interview in
which he spoke of how he almost had a complete physical breakdown because of
his cocaine use.

In spite of a new generation of pop stars seeing the dangers of drugs, Mr
Hellawell, the "drug czar", said that well educated young people were
increasingly using illegal substances. "The fastest growth of drug use is
among high-achieving teenagers," he said. "They are from stable homes, are
doing really well at school and would expect to go to university. They are
not excluded youngsters or down-and-outs from the inner cities."

He said that reports from police, drug action teams around the country and
club owners indicated that many young people youngsters experimented with
drugs such as Ecstasy when out clubbing. Mr Hellawell said that there were
also reports from club owners that youngsters were going straight to cocaine
because it was seen as a drug popular among successful people.

The surge in people taking cocaine has been fuelled by a combination of
falling prices and the fact that people can take it while drinking alcohol.
In spite of a rise in the number of cocaine seizures, the widespread
availability of the drug has resulted in a fall in the price from pounds 60
to pounds 40 a gram.

Mr Hellawell said that, as drug-taking increased among academically gifted
teenagers aged between 16 and 19, pressure was mounting on schools to relax
strict drugs policies including automatic expulsion. He said that parents
with children at public schools and leading grammar schools were demanding
changes. "They realise that just because a school says it has a strict
policy on drugs, including expulsion, does not mean that their children are
safe from drugs."

He also called on pop stars and sports personalities to recognise the
influence they have on young teenagers. "They have the opportunity to go to
fancy clinics, they have money, they have the support of friends when they
get into trouble [over drugs].

"It is pleasing to see one pop star [Noel Gallagher] now reliving his
experiences and saying how bad it was, whereas two years ago he was praising
his drug-taking."

Gallagher, who is reported to have once said that taking drugs was as normal
as having a cup of tea, told in a magazine interview how in a few months he
got the drugs out of his system.

Mr Hellawell said: "It's interesting to see the new generation are now
seeing the dangers and damage that drugs potentially cause."