TWO-THIRDS OF TEENS TRY DRUGS

Two-thirds of teenagers have tried illegal drugs and around a third
are recreational drug users.

The finding comes as the result of a five-year study of teenagers'
drug habits and offers the first solid evidence of a culture shift
towards recreational drug use in the UK.

The study also found that teenagers were using drugs intelligently and
made rational decisions to guide their drug-taking.

Research fellows from the department of Social Policy and Social Work
at Manchester University followed the progress of 500 youths from the
age of 14 until they were 18.

Ordinary Youths

The report authors say these were ordinary adolescents who led
conventional lives and are now in work or at university.

By the time the subjects were 18, 64% had tried illicit drugs while
around three in 10 were recreational drug users.

The researchers defined recreational use as "non-dependent, not using
hard drugs".

Most of those who used drugs wanted to limit their use to avoid
becoming addicted.

They also weighed up the risks of their drug-taking by considering the
possibility of being caught by adults, feeling ill, losing
self-control and dying.

However, they identified being relaxed and having energy, a special
awareness of their surroundings and increased sociability as benefits
of drug use.

Judith Aldridge, one of the study's authors, said: "Most are careful
and rational consumers, who plan their drug use to occur with friends
in places they feel safe and secure.

"They often report feeling relaxed, friendly, happy, carefree and
confident. These good experiences many times outweigh the bad,
especially for drugs like cannabis, amphetamines and ecstasy."

Regular Use

Co-author Fiona Measham added: "We live in a society where
recreational drug use is becoming normalised.

"This does not mean everyone is using drugs, but there is a shift
underway with most young people regularly in situations where drugs
are on offer."

Those who chose not to take drugs were forced to remake the decision
frequently due to the widespread availability of drugs.

An early decision not to take drugs was by no means permanent, the
researchers found.

Some teenagers who consistently said no to drugs during their school
career took ecstasy once they got to university.

Widely Accommodated

The study, called Illegal Leisure: The Normalization of
Adolescent Recreational Drug Use, concludes that
recreational drug use "has been widely accommodated amongst
British youth".

This is despite the fact that the subjects are part of a generation
which has frequently received preventive "say no" education on drug
use, the researchers point out.

Ms Measham said there was a blurring between illegal drugs such as
cannabis and legal ones such as alcohol or tobacco in youth culture.

She added that there was "an increasing cultural belief that we can
take drugs like Prozac or Viagra to improve our performance,
appearance, mood or leisure time".

Checked-by: Patrick Henry