DRUGS WAR TO BE EXTENDED

ULSTER'S war against drugs is set to enter a new phase following a top
level review session by those on the front line.

The UK's newly appointed deputy Drugs Czar, Mike Trace, yesterday met with
delegates from across the province to discuss the issues and begin
hammering out the latest strategy in the on-going fight.

He said the meeting, held in Coleraine, was the next step in trying to
crush the comparatively small but nonetheless significant drugs problem in
Ulster.

Plans to be firmed up among voluntary and statutory sectors include
building on prevention and education techniques, examining enforcement
strategies and improving research methods.

Latest statistics suggest that drug use among over 16-year-olds here has
fallen in the last 12 months but is on the rise in specific parts of the
province.

It is also thought that the gap in male and female adolescent drug taking
is narrowing.

Sixty members from the four local drug co-ordination teams here heard Mr
Trace tell of a "situation on a smaller scale" to that across the water,
but he said there was no room for complacency.

Speaking afterwards, he said he had come along primarily to hear about the
drugs situation in Northern Ireland.

"What we want to do first is write a national strategy for England and then
pass that on to the profession here and see what they make of it," he said.

The workshop conference was the second since Security Minister Adam Ingram
set up the central co-ordinating group - which grew from the previous
government's Northern Ireland Drugs Campaign - to bring together those who
know the situation in the province.

Said Mr Trace: "Overall, we are optimistic about the situation.

"We are by no means in the scenario where our young people are being lost
to drugs, so we shouldn't panic about it." Statistics compiled from various
studies here show that:

* The use of Ecstasy last year compared to 1996 levelled at 2% among those
aged 16-59 and over, while the use of cannabis increased from 7% to 8%.

* The use of LSD fell from 3% in the same age group to 1%.

* The primary single reason people reported taking drugs was that they made
them feel good.

* Despite recent seizures of Crack, there is still no discernible usage of
this drug, or of heroin and cocaine, in Northern Ireland.

Said Mr Trace: "Heroin and cocaine are by and large of greater impact on
communities than other drugs."