Drug misuse

Drug use is something that has always been majorly controversial. Many people question the reason why people feel the need to use drugs, is it out of depression? Just for fun? This blog is meant to look into the reasons why people may turn to illegal drugs for a 'way out'. Drugs are also a huge part of the media, with many celebrities such as Amy Winehouse being accused of being addicted to them.

A survey conducted by the NHS showed that during 2005/2006, 10.5% of adults had used one or more illegal drug within the last year, which was a 1.6% decrease from 1998. However, the use of Class A drugs has increased from 1998, rising from 2.7% to 3.4%. The NHS use the excuse of cocaine powder use in order to explain this. It is widely known many models use drugs such as cocaine, and the media coverage of this has made this drug widely popular.


Something that surprised me was the statistics from the NHS of drug use from children aged eleven to fifteen. The survey reported that out of all the fifteen year olds that were asked, 29% of those had taken an illegal drug within the last year. This is alarming in the fact that drug culture is reaching those even too young to understand the consequences of taking such addictive, dangerous substances. A massive 17% of all eleven to fifteen year old pupils asked in 2006 had also admitted to taking a drug within the last year. It is hard to fathom why such young children would turn to taking drugs at such a young age. 4% of those asked also admitted to taking a Class A drug, which is a percentage which has remained unchanged since 2001. This is alarming in the fact that Class A includes substances such as heroin, cocaine and exstacy. Why would children need to take these, and how do they even obtain them? 18% of those asked admitted to have being offered exstacy. This could also raise the issue of where these children are spending their free time. Also, 33% of all students asked thought that it would be easy to find these drugs, which is disgusting.


Drug use would also most definatly relate to crime rate. Gangs and drugs cause massive problems for the police, and also the NHS. Drug related deaths in the UK stood at 1608 during 2005, which was an increase on 2004. This stands to make me pose the question is the celebrity culture and clubbing scene causing people to turn to drugs? Do children feel the need to proove themselves and take potentially lethal substances to act 'cool'? Also, what do you think the government is doing to prevent this?



Here is the webpage I got my information from, I hope you find it an interesting read:-
http://www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/health-and-lifestyles/drug-misuse/statistics-on-drug-misuse-england-2007-full-report