Pubdate: Tue, 30 Dec 2003
Source: Times, The (UK)
Copyright: 2003 Times Newspapers Ltd
Contact:  http://www.the-times.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/454
Author: Richard Ford

DRUG USE FUNDAMENTAL TO SOCIAL LIFE OF MOST CLUBBERS

DRUG-TAKING is a fundamental part of the social life of almost half the 
young people currently using illegal substances, according to a Home Office 
report published yesterday.

The central role played by drugs in clubbing and partying is highlighted in 
a report revealing that drug users are experimenting with a wider range of 
substances than ever before.

A new drug fashion is emerging in youth culture, in which the synthetic 
substances ketamine and GHB are becoming increasingly popular. Large 
numbers of young people are also mixing drugs with alcohol and 60 per cent 
are drinking hazardous levels of beer and spirits, consuming the entire 
weekly recommended alcohol level in one night.

Danny Kushlick, of Transform, the campaign for an effective drugs policy, 
said yesterday: "There are few people in clubs that do not use drugs. Most 
people who go out to listen to repetitive beats for five to six hours need 
to have drugs to change their way of thinking just to get through that." He 
said the report's findings showed the continuing normalisation of 
recreational drug use in certain cultures and that their use was seen as a 
lifestyle choice.

The study found that clubbers have far more experience of drugs than the 
general young adult population: 80 per cent admitted using a drug at some 
time in their life, compared with only 50 per cent among those between 16 
and 29. "Drug use is far more prevalent among those attending mainstream 
clubs than among the general population of young people," the report, 
published by the Home Office, said. "Moreover, among the clubbers sampled, 
the vast majority considered recreational drug use to be a normal activity."

The study added: "A particularly striking finding is that current drug 
users had more wideranging drug-use careers than those classified as lapsed 
drug users."

The study also found that clubbers drank more often and in greater 
quantities than young adults in general. Many questioned during the survey 
of six clubs in the South East intended to drink at least ten units of 
alcohol that night. Eighty per cent of clubbers had tried at least one 
drug. Three quarters had used cannabis, more than half had used Ecstasy, 
half had used amphetamines and cocaine and one third LSD and amyl nitrate.

Among clubbers interviewed in 2000 the most popular club drug was Ecstasy 
followed by cannabis. Young clubbers gave a variety of reasons for using 
drugs, the most popular being boredom, curiosity and others using drugs. No 
one said that they had been pushed into using drugs by a dealer and many 
were dismissive of those who suggested that this was a way of initiation 
into drug use.

Most said that they had a regular supplier and a set pattern for obtaining 
drugs that was part of detailed planning, sometimes weeks in advance, for a 
night out. A typical night out would start with meeting at a friend's home, 
drinking alcohol occasionally followed by cocaine. In the queue for the 
club, the first tablet of Ecstasy is taken followed by more in the club.

Cannabis or alcohol would then be used to "come down" at the end of the 
night. Hardly anyone admitted buying drugs from a dealer in a club and most 
were dismissive of security guards on the doors. Searching on the doors was 
described as ineffective because it was either not carried out at all or 
only in a superficial way.

Clubbers believed that drugs confiscated by door staff were then resold by 
them. None of those questioned had been reported to the police after drugs 
had been found during a door search.

Last night Caroline Flint, the Drugs Minister, warned young people of the 
danger of mixing alcohol and drugs particularly over the new year. She 
said: "Over the party season some young people, who have never taken drugs 
before, may be inclined to try. All illegal drugs are harmful and no one 
should take them. We all know the dangers of binge drinking and drugs, but 
people often give little thought to the toxic cocktail of alcohol mixed 
with drugs."

A Home Office spokesman said that the findings of the research had taken 
four years to publish because of administration. He added: "These things 
take a long time. It is down to administration in this case".

There are currently 15 research reports awaiting publication by the Home 
Office, including three from 2002.

A 26-year-old woman was raped after her drink was apparently spiked with an 
unknown drug, police said yesterday. It is thought that the victim was 
attacked as she walked home after a night out in Towcester, 
Northamptonshire, on Boxing Day. She was seen at about 1am, barefoot and in 
a distressed state. Police said she accepted a lift from two white men in a 
dark-coloured car, possibly a VW Golf. Just after 5am the woman flagged 
down a police car after finding herself in a field near the old Towcester 
Football Club ground.

FROM EXPERIMENT TO DANGER

Typical British clubbers are employed, in their early twenties and white

Almost all follow a similar pattern of experimentation with drugs. The path 
starts with alcohol at around the age of 14, followed by cannabis which 
typically leads on to LSD and/or speed

By the time they become regular clubbers, Ecstasy is the drug of choice. 
Clubbers often then move on to cocaine and, to a lesser extent, to 
ketamine, also known as "Special K", and GHB (gammahydroxybutrate) which is 
also known as "liquid Ecstasy"
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart