Source: The Scotsman, Edinburgh, UK (http://www.scotsman.com)
Contact: Letters_ts@scotsman.com

Study shows hard drugs link to the rave scene

JENNY BOOTH Home Affairs Correspondent

THE dance scene is leading youngsters into the use of hard drugs, a
survey has found.

Many in the ecstasyfuelled rave scene are tempted to experiment
with other illegal drugs with more injecting heroin as a way of
coming down from their ecstasy high.

Workers at the Calton Athletic drug rehabilitation centre in
Glasgow have also warned that ecstasy's role as a "love drug" may be
building up to a sexuallytransmitted epidemic of HIV and
hepatitis C among young dancegoers.

The survey, by Glasgow University's Centre for Drug Misuse
Research, found that among a random sample of 135 young people at
dance events 78 per cent had taken LSD and 58 per cent cocaine in the
past 12 months.

A more predictable 87 per cent had taken ecstasy. In addition, 95 per
cent had used cannabis, 39 per cent had taken temazepam and 11 per
cent had taken heroin, all used as post rave "downers".

"I find the figures very shocking," said Dr Neil McKechnie, of
Glasgow University, who presented the research findings at
yesterday's Scottish Drugs Forum seminar in Stirling. "This is the
first time we have seen quantitative data on levels of different drug
use at dance events and it shows that drug misuse certainly isn't
confined to ecstasy at such events, as is usually assumed.

"We are seeing significant use of drugs that in the past have been
associated with quite different groups of people and different forms
of problematic as opposed to recreational drug use, like heroin, LSD
and temazepam."

Andrew Horne, the project manager at Glasgow Drug Crisis Centre,
said that problems with heroin use in the Scottish rave scene had been
on the rise since the prescription drug temazepam was made less
widely available last year.

"The death rate from temazepam has dropped significantly, but we
are concerned that young people are turning to heroin instead to come
down after a rave," said Mr Horne. "The problem is that heroin is
not a drug that is easily contained. Very few heroin users just take it
recreationally at weekends."

Mickey McGonagle, the music editor of the dance and club culture
magazine M8, said stories of the rise of heroin were "grossly
exaggerated".

"Most people would take a jelly [temazepam] or smoke lots of hash
to come down," Mr McGonagle said. "I have never come across
anyone taking heroin. It might be smoked as a downer among a very
small minority of people.

"Taking ecstasy is, of course, not safe at all because you don't know
what you are getting there could be anything in it. You make it
safer by following the safe dance guidelines of drinking water,
staying cool and taking rests."

Archie McCormick, a worker at Calton Athletic, hit back, saying
water would not prevent drugtakers from "frying their brains or
getting infected". He said: "Ecstasy is called the love drug, so
everyone is sleeping with one another. A few are infected and they
are giving one another HIV and hepatitis C.

"We are seeing more and more people coming through the door with
hep C, which is probably a smokescreen for HIV."

Like Glasgow Drug Crisis Centre, Calton Athletic was seeing
young heroin addicts who had got started on hard drugs through the
rave scene,

"It starts as a lot of fun, but before you know it drugtaking is a
necessity just to feel normal," he said.

Dr McKechnie said the findings showed Scotland had to take the
issue of schoolchildren dabbling in drugs more seriously. A survey
in Dundee showed that 51 per cent of 16 yearolds had tried
cannabis.

"We must make the connection between those who are kids now who
may grow up to join the dance scene and take up much wider patterns
of drug use. That fact should make us much more cautious about
describing schoolchildren's drug use as recreational."