02 Nov High Price of Alcohol in the Capital Pushing Students Towards illegal Drug use
A recent NUS study published exclusively by the Independent claimed that one in five students at universities no longer drank alcohol. After talking to students around Elephant and Castle, the high prices of alcohol coupled with the easily accessible and cheaper option of purchasing party drugs implies one of the reasons for these findings.
Alcohol in London is notoriously expensive – a pub in Borough Market recently came under fire for selling a pint three times the average price at £13.40. With a lifestyle in the capital forcing many students to work two or even three jobs, rather than spending exorbitant amounts of money on drinks in clubs, many students are taking the dangerous route of a £10 ecstacy pill as a cheaper alternative. After approaching leading anti drug charity Addaction for comment, their company director David MacKintosh issued the following statement. “If we think of the Scandinavian countries, they tend to have expensive alcohol and relatively (compared to the UK) low levels of illegal drug use. That is not to say that there may not be a connection for some individuals.”
Freshers students outside the Rockingham Arms in Elephant and Castle
However, our interactions with students around Elephant and Castle seemed to imply the opposite. “You can buy a pint for £7 or a pill for a tenner and it’ll see you through the whole night.” Stated one freshers student, who wished to remain anonymous. Almost all students we spoke with had a nonchalant approach to the topic of drug use, an attitude gradually becoming more and more commonplace in youth culture. After the deaths of several young people at music festivals and events around the UK, vendors have been forced to reevaluate existing drug policies, and focus on an approach that educates instead of reprimands.
Drug testing facilities have been popping up frequently at music events this year, with 8,000 people estimated to have used them in 2018 according to figures published by leading music platform MixMag. Could this be the start of a national shift in attitudes? In recent news, loved ones of those now deceased from taking a “bad pill” have been the most vocal about the importance of testing facilities. In September the BBC posted the story of a grieving mother who is now working closely with facilities after her daughter died taking Ketamine at a festival. It’s important to remember how expensive drinks are inside festivals. A Newcastle University student Josh Davison said the following on this: “We go to festivals in groups of about 20, and between us roughly buy one drink each when we first get there. We can’t afford to keep re-buying drinks so we all chip in and either buy MDMA, ketamine, pills or coke.”
It’s entirely probable that this is an issue with severe consequences. Nearly everyone who ends up taking harder drugs has started off with alcohol or even marijuana, and with students feeling a financial pressure to dabble in party drugs this early on in their lives, its a genuine fear for parents that it may not start and end with a single Ecstacy pill.
