Friday, 07 Nov, 2008 Current Events

Shocking results of a recent analysis, carried out by the drug agency of the European Union, show that Britain leads the list of the countries with the worst drug abuse in Europe. It was found that young people living in Britain are the biggest fans of cocaine, Ecstasy and amphetamine in Europe.

The report showed that youngsters in Britain are using cocaine in larger quantities and more frequently than any other country in the world, not considering the United States. Cocaine is popular among teenagers aged 15 and 16. Statistics show that 1 in 20 schoolchildren have used cocaine, that makes 200,000 teens aged 15 and 16.

The death-rates from drug use in Britain are also some of the highest in European Union, surpassing some of the major countries in EU. Luxembourg, Estonia, Norway and Denmark are the four nations that registered the highest number of deaths from drug use in EU.

Deaths from drug use in Britain were twice those registered in Germany and four times higher than in France. According to the report of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, a European agency with headquarters in Lisbon, the use of Ecstasy "remained consistently higher in the UK compared to other countries."

The report stated that British teens, who previously used amphetamine, are now switching to cocaine. They are using cocaine with higher frequency and in large proportions. The figures of the report show that four European countries surpass Australia in terms of cocaine abuse. It is worth mentioning that Australia is considered to have the highest rates of cocaine use. However, only Britain shows "a lifetime prevalence estimate" that is comparable to that of the United States.

Five percent of British young people use more cocaine than the young people in Spain, which became one of the leading European drug centers in recent years after building connection with South Africa. The report showed that the use of cannabis in Britain decline, mentioning that the country had one of the highest rates of cannabis use in the mid-1990s. Currently, however, Britain ranks third.

Youngsters who previously used cannabis reported lack of interest to the drug. The drug report was developed as a reproach to ministers who attempt to show that the drug use in Britain is declining among teenagers. It's worth noting that the British Crime Survey reports a decreased use of drugs in Britain for the past several years, which comes in contradition with the new report.

According to Shadow Home Secretary Dominic Grieve, the highest rate of cocaine use among teens aged 15 and 16 is due to the chaotic, confused and unworried approach to drugs of the Labor. Currently cannabis is in class C category, where, according to David Nutt, Professor of Psychopharmacology and Head of the Department of Community Based Medicine at the University of Bristol, Ecstasy should be included (currently being considered class B drug).

Ministers are to consider placing cannabis in the class B category after the use of drug led to schizophrenia and a number of other mental illnesses. However, police chiefs say that they will not arrest those who possess cannabis, which means that the reclassification of the drug will not have a considerable effect.