DRUGS BEGIN IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS

Curiosity is the main reason why four out of five students have tried drugs,
according to a student union survey.

It shows that half of those who have tried drugs are continuing to take
them.

Five per cent of the 1,000-plus students surveyed said they had first taken
an illegal drug while in primary school and 72pc in second level school. The
rest of those who had taken an illegal drug first did so in college.

The most popular starter drug was cannabis which was taken by almost half of
those who had tried drugs, followed by ecstasy which was taken by 10pc while
9pc said speed was their initial drug.

Just over half 53pc of respondents indicated that drugs were a part of their
social life while 47pc of students surveyed said drugs were not.

USI president Colman Byrne said there was a "gaping hole" between the level
of information on drugs provided by the Government and the level of
information required by students and young people.

"The results of this survey indicated that our fears are well-founded as
33pc of respondents said they had no information prior to taking their first
drug," he said.

And 59pc said they did not know the long term effects of the drugs they took
for the first time.

Mr Byrne said that the results clearly indicated that students were not
adequately educated on the effects and dangers of drug use. "Once again, USI
has had to assume the role of educators due to the failure of successive
governments," he said.

He said the results equipped USI with the information to tackle the problem
of drug use and abuse. He called on the Government to:

* provide adequate information on the use and abuse of drugs

* work in partnership with USI to combat the problem

* use USI's resources as the representative body for students

* provide adequate funding for a comprehensive peer education programme on
the effects of drug use.

"In thirty years, the methods of student unions may have changed. However,
our motivation is still the well-being of students and our enemy is the
inaction of those in power," he said.

Over a third of those who tried drugs now take a larger quantity on a
regular basis. Some spent #10-#15 a week on cannabis.

The survey also revealed that 15pc of students took no precautions when
using drugs.

Checked-by: "Rolf Ernst"