wfn.org | Young people say don't legalise cannabis

["EAUK Press Office" <press@eauk.org>]

For Immediate Release: 0600Hrs, Wednesday 4th November 1998

Sixty-nine per cent of school children aged between 11 and 14 
who took part in a national survey on drug awareness and use, 
say drugs like Cannabis should not be legalised and 87 per cent 
said they did not see themselves taking drugs in the future.

The survey was conducted by Hope UK, a children's drug prevention
charity and a member of the Evangelical Alliance Coalition on
Drugs (ECOD).  Its release has been timed to coincide with
Operation Floodlight, an ECOD conference in Birmingham attended
by Keith Hellawell, the UK anti Drugs co-ordinator.  Mr Hellawell
is expected to tell church-based drug workers of the role the
Church has to play in tackling the country's drug problem.

Nearly 3,000 young people responded to the survey in schools
throughout England. George Ruston, Executive Director of Hope UK
said: "What this survey shows is that young people do take the
issue of illegal drugs seriously and that many of them will avoid
drug use. We need to invest in effective prevention work to
encourage them and help persuade others that a drug free option
is a positive choice."

Strong deterrents to drug-taking among the young people surveyed
include health risks and fear of arrest.

Alcohol is the most popular legal drug.  Eight per cent of
respondents aged 11 say they drink alcohol weekly with the most
popular drink being wine followed by beer and lager; over 25 per
cent of 13 and 14 year olds say they drink weekly with beer and
lager being the most popular choice.

Cigarette smoking comes out as the least popular legal drug used
among the group surveyed. Only 10 per cent admit to smoking
compared with 70 per cent who say they drink alcohol.

Between the ages of 11 and 14 there is a 10 per cent drop in
those saying Cannabis should not be legalised while those who see
themselves using drugs in the future, doubles. However this still
left 82 per cent who had not changed their view and still do not
see themselves using drugs in the future.

When questioned on which groups were more likely to take drugs,
the survey shows that night-clubbers and teenagers came out on
top, with housewives and old people, least likely. Sportsmen and
women came in the middle and parents were listed above business
people as more likely to take drugs.

ENDS

For further information, contact:

Gavin Drake, gdrake@eauk.org
0171 207 2117 or + 44 171 207 2117

or
Jill Howard, jhoward@eauk.org
0171-207 2116 or + 44 171 207 2116

Evangelical Alliance UK,
Whitefield House,
186 Kennington Park Road,
London, SE11  4BT

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