ONE IN THREE BRITISH TEENS SMOKES MARIJUANA

LONDON (Reuters) - British teenagers, casting caution to the winds, are
regularly smoking drugs and drinking their way to oblivion, according to a
report released on Friday.

The survey by the National Centre for Social Research and the National
Foundation for Educational Research said nearly one-third of 15-year-olds
had smoked marijuana in the past year and the number of under-age drinkers
had risen sharply.

The news came just one day after medical experts from the Advisory Council
on the Misuse of Drugs recommended to the government that cannabis be
reclassified as a low-risk drug.

The survey of more than 9,000 pupils in 285 secondary schools across England
showed that thirteen percent of pupils aged 11-15 had used cannabis in the
last year increasing to 31 percent among 15-year-olds.

Two-fifths of all pupils said they had been offered one or more drugs, with
boys more likely than girls to have been approached.

Twenty seven percent of pupils said they had been offered cannabis, while 22
percent had been asked to try stimulants which included cocaine, crack,
ecstasy, amphetamines and "poppers" (amyl nitrate).

Again the figures climbed dramatically with 15-year-olds as 66 percent
claimed they had been offered drugs. Roger Howard, chief executive of the
charity Drugscope which offers advice and education on drug abuse, said he
was not surprised by the findings.

"Criminal sanctions and jail is simply not stopping large numbers of young
people experimenting with drugs," he said.

"The only way to address the problem is to invest more in long term
education and prevention work and ensure that young people who need
treatment get it immediately."

The drinking of alcohol among youngsters was also highlighted in the report.

After falling from 27 percent in 1996 to 21 percent in 1998, it increased
again to 26 percent in 2001. One in two 15-year-olds said they had consumed
alcohol in the past week.

However, the number of alcohol units drunk in a week which had increased
steadily from 5.3 in 1990 to 10.4 in 2000 fell for the first time to stand
at 9.8.

Figures for solvent abuse doubled from three percent to seven, however the
research centers said this was probably a result of the change in the
survey's question format rather than an increase in actual misuse.