Teenager drug culture takes over

Teenagers of the future will be considered "deviant" if they do not take drugs, a report published yesterday says.

Cannabis, LSD and stimulants are already central to young lifestyles and drug use is embedded in the values of modern music, fashion and the media, the Institute for the Study of Drug Dependence's three-year study of 700 14-16-year-olds from the North-west concluded.

The problem was not confined to poor or disadvantaged youngsters. Those from well-off backgrounds were also part of the new culture. According to the survey, the number of teenagers in situations where drugs were offered rose from 59 per cent to 76 per cent. Those who had used a drug increased from 36 per cent to 51 per cent.

"Over the next few years . . . non-drug trying adolescents will be a minority group. In one sense they will be the deviants," the report said.

8 Drug Futures: Changing Patterns of Drug Use Amongst English Youth; ISDD; pounds 16.50.

Analysis, page 13