07 Jan Has the usage of drugs gone down amongst young people in the UK since 2012-2014?
Recent studies have shown that the number of young people taking drugs in the UK has decreased within the last few years. However contradicting studies also show that it is in fact on the rise.
According to the ‘Health & Social Care Information Centre’ drug usage amongst young people had decreased in the last 2 years, contrary to popular belief that it may have increased, “the prevalence of drug use amongst 11 to 15 year olds in England declined between 2001 and 2010. Since then the decline has slowed. In 2014, 15 per cent of pupils had ever taken drugs, 10 per cent had taken drugs in the last year, and 6 per cent had taken drugs in the last month”.
However, according to a release done by the Home Office “around 1 in 11 (8.8%) adult’s aged 16 to 59 had taken an illicit drug in the last year. However, this proportion more than doubled when looking at the age subgroup of 16 to 24 year-olds (18.9%).”
This begs the question, why do the sources differ? Have drugs become harder to get access to? If that is the case than the first statistic does not fully stand as stated by the National Crime Agency Class A drugs, specifically heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine and ecstasy, are widely available throughout the UK.
A survey conducted by the Guardian found that younger drug users (between 18 and 25) where much more likely to take risks with unknown substances. Those who spoke to the Guardian stated that they “were confident enough that they could balance drug taking with their careers, relationships and regarded the side effects of drug use as often being no worse than a hangover.”
It is also important to note that those who did partake in the survey reported being happy, healthy and educated and were comfortable with their recreational consumption of various illicit drugs ranging from cannabis, ecstasy to cocaine.
With this in mind, is the sudden surge of young people taking drugs justifiable? These people are not in rehab, don’t show signs of addiction and are not in trouble with the law. Does their recreational use of drugs present a more complicated problem in the future?
Dr. J.O. Salerno, doctor at Gravel Hill Surgery & Parkway Health center said: “I’ve had a few (not many) young people come into the practice who suffer from depression. When they begin to speak about the problem, what they usually say is they’ve tried taking drugs as a means to lessen the pain, the isolation they feel. And I think that may be why so many young people are now turning to drugs.”
The reason why young people turn to drugs varies between each person, some may be looking for a bit of fun, they see their friends doing it they become curious and give it a go themselves. Some want to experience the feeling of intoxication. Other times, like the one mentioned by Dr. Salerno, they use drugs to help cope with difficult situations, depression, anxiety and in more general terms mental health issues.
It is estimated that around 2.2% of 16-25 year olds have experienced a depressive episode throughout their lifetime. Depression is more common in women than men. Around 1 in 4 women will require treatment compared to 1 in 10 men. Reasons for this are not clear, but one of the most common stems from social constructs that men cannot express their feeling as openly as women can therefore they do not get treated for their depression.
A leaflet produced by the Royal College of Psychiatrists says, “Men are more likely to use drugs and alcohol than ask for help”. This statement still remains true as the crime survey conducted by the Home Office states, “Men are more likely to take drugs than women. Around one-in-eight (11.8%) men had taken an illicit drug in the last year, according to the 2013 to 2014 CSEW, compared with 5.8% of women.”
A previous substance user (who’d prefer to remain anonymous) stated that when she was receiving help she found it really hard to go to someone in person, which was why she found the online blog group, “Mental Health Advice” extremely helpful. “They didn’t judge me, and because I could type my problems/experiences instead of actually saying them I felt more at ease. It also gave me the courage I needed to seek professional help, help outside the Internet”.
When asked why she got into using drugs her main response was “most of my friends were doing it, I thought I’d give it a try. My problems were getting so bad, I thought any escape from them would be a godsend”
Although she herself had taken drugs, she had thought the drug consumption in the UK had decreased, “I would’ve thought that drug taking would have gone down quite a bit, now there are a number of ways to seek free and safe help. On the Internet, GP, on the phone there is a way for everyone. Lack of help or advice shouldn’t be a problem like it was before.
In a survey done by Public Health England showed that 19,126 young people received help for alcohol or drug problems. With 79% of young people leaving the services having successfully completing their treatment. The data in the survey also revealed that the number of young people attending specialist substance misuse services during 2013-14 was 19,126, down from 20,032 in 2012-13 (a 4.5% drop). The need to not seek help could stem from the potential decline of drug use amongst young people.
A press correspondent from national drug education ‘Frank’ also shared conflicting views. “Personally I think the consumption of drugs has increased as result of young people becoming more experimental. I found that young people are more inclined to experiment with drugs they no nothing about especially when under the influence of other drugs or alcohol”.
Though they believed that the drug consumption in the UK had risen they did not place the blame on the lack of help available for young people. “The UK is quite good in that aspect, as there is a lot of help which can easily be accessed by anyone. You don’t have to disclose who you are and can receive the necessary help needed.”
The explanation for why there is an increase or decrease of drug consumption amongst young people in the UK is still not clear. There is a range of different reasons why either statement could be wrong. Some believe that the law is a little too lenient when it comes to punishing those caught with drugs. It is suggested that the police might be reluctant to criminalise young people possessing drugs. As a result young people may not see the severity of the problem, and will continue to use drugs and know that they wont suffer serious repercussions because of this.
On the same hand others feel that UK has a great system that works with helping deal with the drug problem and therefore this must have a link between the decrease of drug usage.
However there is more evidence to suggest that drug usage (especially amongst young people) is on the rise in the UK, but for the majority it does not prove to be a problem. 87% of those who have taken drugs do not believe they have ever had a problem with them according to a survey taken by the Guardian. Considering this as one of the main factors for why drug consumption may be on the rise, because people do not become addicted or suffer serious problems as a result of taking illicit drugs, does the fact that it is still raising matter?
It’s difficult to say who is right or who is wrong, although there is evidence to suggest drug consumption amongst young people is decreasing there is also evidence that suggests that it also rising. The bigger question would be to ask if it is in fact rising, are other areas such crime, poor health, death, addiction also on the rise as a result. If the answer is no, then is taking drugs occasionally that much of a problem for the UK?
