Drugtaking 'part of modern life'

By Richard Ford, Home Correspondent

DRUGTAKING is no longer the hallmark of rebels, losers and couch potatoes
but part of the consumer lifestyle enjoyed by young people, according to a
report published today.

Most people aged 1624 using drugs recreationally are sociable and sensible
rather than deviant, the report says. It condemns conventional images of
drug users and says that they are highly knowledgeable about the substances
they take and the role they play in their lives.

Drugtakers are no less moral than young people in general, the report, The
Substance of Youth, published by the Joseph Rowntree Trust, says. "Most
recreational drugtaking takes place as part of a consumer lifestyle, not a
deviant one."

The report says there is no overall drug culture in Britain and highlights
differences across the country. In Wythenshawe, Manchester, taking drugs is
a sign of conformity rather than rebellion while in fashionable circles of
London and other major cities, drugtaking may be about innovation in style.

The study by the independent thinktank Demos warns the Government that it
would make no progress tackling drugs effectively until the conventional
image of drugtakers is dispelled. Any "battle" against drugs would fail.

One of the authors of the report warned the Government of the danger of
allowing Keith Hellawell, its new AntiDrugs Coordinator, to be portrayed
as someone at war with youth culture. Mr Hellawell welcomed the report as
providing a further insight into the complexities of drug misuse among
young people.