'MINISTERS OUT OF TOUCH WITH REALITY'

Children from Kids Company, an after-school club in Camberwell, south-east
London, suggested that while the state should provide help for addicts, the
Government was out of touch with the reality of youngsters' drug use.

Stephanie Lucas, 13, said that it was difficult to get young people to
listen to advice: "Teachers used to tell us about drugs, but nobody
listened. They just think the teachers are stupid. The Government should
stop putting posters up.

"The more they put posters up, the more people are going to do it - because
people take drugs to show off and to behave badly. I know people who take
cannabis. Then they'll move on to heroin and coke to show off even more."

But Marlon Bennett, 14, agreed with Keith Hellawell, the Government's drugs
czar, for emphasis on treatment rather than punishment: "Sending them to
jail isn't going to help them. They need tablets to help them come off the
drugs."

He thought the Government was wise to target the young: "The younger you
take drugs the more it's going to mess you up. Young people are first to try
things out. Some people take drugs just to prove something."

Jason Jones, 16, said: "The Government can't help. They don't know what
everyone feels like unless they've done it themselves. Everyone has their
own reasons.

"Some people like it for pleasure. Cannabis is a religion for certain
people, so you mustn't take it away from them. The Government should show
people that it's not good for them and that it's killing them. If someone is
in a bad situation they should have places to go where they can talk."

Dwayne Grandison, 17, said that people took drugs if they were "stressed out
or depressed": "Some people have got no parents, so they might as well do it
for a living. They've got nothing to live for.

"The Government is right to try and help them get off it," he said. Prison
didn't help, as prisoners still took it: "The Government should try and stop
it being imported."

Lauren Brown, 14, said "all her friends" smoked cannabis: "They think
they're cool. I don't think it's cool. I tried it once but I didn't like it.
If they like it that's their problem. It's no worse than alcohol. When
people start drinking they beat their wives."