HALF RUGBY UNION PLAYERS ADMIT TO ILLEGAL DRUG USE

Lawrence Dallaglio's alleged drug use, if proved, would be more an
indicator that he was "in step with his generation" than a sign that his
recreational habits were particularly abnormal, according to an expert in
substance abuse.

"If drug use is not the norm, then it is far from unknown," Dr Philip
Robson, a consultant psychiatrist in substance abuse at the Chiltern Clinic
in Oxford, said yesterday.

Dr Robson, who works closely with Oxford University and wrote Forbidden
Drugs, a book which "seeks to demystify the subject of drugs", added that
people should not assume that people who use recreational drugs are all
addicts who will irreversibly damage their health. "Long-term studies show
that occasional and modest use [of drugs such as cannabis and cocaine]
shows that the impact to physical health is very little," Dr Robson said.
"There is no reason why that should be different just because someone is a
well-known sportsman."

Dallaglio was quoted in the News of the World on Sundaysaying he had used
cocaine, cannabis and ecstasy. Dr Robson said that problems of drug use can
become severe when addictions develop and impure substances are taken, and
that the issue of drug abuse was extremely serious. But he added that to
tackle the problem most effectively, it is important to keep the risks in
perspective.

"The way we change our views on the subject over time is remarkable," he
said, and added that it would not be especially unusual for a 26-year-old
man to use drugs.

Dallaglio would be far from alone among top-level English rugby players if
he is proved to have used recreational drugs. In an Independent survey into
drug use in British sport last December, nearly half of the rugby union
players who responded admitted to having used an illegal substance for
recreation purposes, including 12 per cent who had tried ecstasy and 4 per
cent who had tried cocaine. The most popular drug was cannabis, with 43 per
cent of the rugby union respondents admitting to having tried it at some time.

Among rugby league players who responded to the survey, 54 per cent
admitted trying cannabis and 15 per cent ecstasy. Among football players,
22 per cent admitted having taken cannabis, 9 per cent ecstasy and 7 per
cent cocaine. The survey was conducted anonymously and replies were
received from more than 300 top-level British sportsmen and women. "There
is too much concern over recreational drugs," wrote one footballer, who
echoed the views of many who replied.

Recreational drug use in society as a whole is not vastly different to the
drug use uncovered in the survey. A Health Education Authority national
drugs survey in 1996 showed that 36 per cent of British people aged between
11 and 36 had used cannabis. In the same age group, 16 per cent had

used amphetamines, 9 per cent LSD, 9 per cent magic mushrooms, 7 per cent
ecstasy and 4 per cent cocaine. A spokeswoman for the HEA said that its
main priority was to educate about the effects and dangers of drugs. "Our
bottom line is that the safest option is not to use drugs," she said, but
added that many people will do so anyway. "We need to make sure that they
are armed with all the information available."

Release, the national drugs and legal charity, took a similar stance. "Lots
of people experiment with drugs at some point, and most of them stop at
some point," Ian Robinson, a spokesman said. "We're not going to stop
people taking drugs. What we can do is minimise the harm that drugs do." Mr
Robinson said that if he were asked to assess such a case, he would take a
practical, rather than a moral view of a player.

"Is he a good rugby player? Is he a good captain? Does this affect his
ability to do his job? These are the type of questions we would address,"
Mr Robinson said. The big dangers of being associated with drug use are the
legal effects and the effect on employment prospects, he added. Lawrence
Dallaglio now knows that all too well.