MORE UK CHILDREN HAVE TRIED CANNABIS

More schoolchildren in England have experimented with cannabis than in any
other country in Europe, a report said today.

News of the extent of pot-smoking among UK teens came on the day ministers
unveiled new measures to crack down on dealers who sell drugs near schools.

The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) also
said the UK had the joint highest number of cocaine users, alongside Spain.

Between 5% and 7% of people aged 15 to 24 in the UK and Spain admitted to
using cocaine recently, it said.

The report by the Lisbon-based agency estimated up to three million people
in the EU use marijuana on a daily basis.

EMCDDA director Georges Estievenart said: "We have established that regular
cannabis use is rising."

The study said 42% of boys and 38% of girls aged 15 in England had tried
cannabis, compared with less than 10% in Greece, Malta, Sweden and Norway.

England also had the highest number of 15-year-olds who were heavy dope
users - defined as using the drug on 40 or more occasions a year.

Just over 10% of 15-year-old English boys reported heavy use of cannabis,
compared with the next-biggest group of about 7% in Spain and Belgium.

Figures for Welsh and Scottish boys were lower than in England - about 5%
and 6.6% respectively.

On cannabis trends in the EU, the report said: "There is concern that a
small but significant group, of predominantly young men, are now using the
drug more intensively and that numbers of those doing so may be growing.

"The EMCDDA offers a crude estimate that there may be up to three million
daily cannabis users across the EU."

Home Secretary David Blunkett announced that drug dealers caught near
schools will face harsher sentences.

Judges will be able to treat being arrested near a school - or using
children as couriers - as an aggravating factor when they sentence drug
dealers.

A new Drugs Bill will also allow courts to assume that anyone caught with
more drugs than they would need for their own personal use is a dealer,
thus facing tougher penalties.

Mr Blunkett also said there will be a major three-month campaign to close
crack houses and drug dens in towns and cities across England and Wales
from January, which will also target firearms.

Other shock figures in the study of the drug situation in the 25 EU member
states included:

The number of mentions of cocaine on death certificates in the UK increased
eightfold between 1993 and 2001;

Cannabis use among the 15 to 34 age group is highest - more than 35% - in
the UK, Denmark, Spain and France;

The UK is among the top five countries for "problem drug users", reporting
six to 10 cases for every 1,000 adults, along with Denmark, Italy,
Luxembourg and Portugal;

After heroin, cannabis is the drug for which the largest number of people
seek treatment.

On the chemicals used by drug dealers to adulterate their products, the
report added: "There are new concerns that 'cutting agents' used in
preparing cocaine can pose added health risks.

"One example is phenacetine - a relatively common adulterant in cocaine
powder - which has been linked to cancer and disorder of the liver, kidneys
and blood."

Home Office minister Caroline Flint said: "This report is based on
two-year-old data and does not reflect current levels of drug misuse in the UK.

"More recent trends have seen a steady fall in the use of cannabis,
amphetamines and, more recently, ecstasy.

"The British Crime Survey shows that amphetamine use by 16- to 24-year-olds
has fallen by 60% in the last five years, cannabis use has declined from
28.2% in 1998 to 24.8% today and crack and cocaine use has stabilised."

Mr Blunkett also announced today that the Government's Drug Interventions
Programme will be extended to 32 new areas from April.

The scheme forces anyone charged with a range of crimes normally associated
with drugs, such as theft, to undergo tests for Class A drugs such as
heroin and crack, and offers them voluntary treatment if the tests are
positive.

Under the new Bill this scheme will be made tougher so offenders are
drug-tested on arrest rather than charge and, if positive, forced to
undergo drug assessment, said Mr Blunkett.

One new measure to go ahead immediately in five pilot areas - Manchester,
Calderdale, Newham in London, Bradford and Middlesbrough - will see young
offenders forced to undergo drug treatment as part of community sentences.

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Mark Oaten said: "These are
constructive proposals, but with no date for a Bill they could fall by the
wayside before the elections."