ONE YOUTH IN 20 HAS TRIED HEROIN, SCHOOL SURVEY FINDS

Heroin experimentation appears to be on the rise among NSW teenagers,
with a schools survey revealing that one in 20 male youths had tried
the drug, a tenfold increase on an earlier national study.

The 1996 secondary schools survey of 12- to 17-year-olds, released
yesterday by the State Government, also shows that girls are now
almost as likely as boys to try cannabis, previously considered more
of a problem among young men.

Drug experts said the best comparable data was the 1995 National Drug
Household Survey, where 44 per cent of male 14- to 19-year-olds had
tried cannabis, compared to 24 per cent of females.

The NSW schools survey shows that 39 per cent of boys and 31 per cent
of girls had tried cannabis but males were twice as likely to report
recent use than females.

The information manager for the National Drug and Alcohol Research
Centre, Mr Paul Dillon, said the two-year-old figures were "pretty
useless" because drug use changed constantly but the survey suggested
that drug education should start earlier in schools. The Minister for
Health, Dr Refshauge, said yesterday there had been a 10 per cent
increase in cannabis-dependent patients suffering drug-induced
psychosis between 1993 and 1997.

He committed $75,000 for new treatment programs for young people due
to the possible link between cannabis use and mental illness.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry