Whilst we muddle around with cannabis, a drug still safer than alcohol and
tobacco, this disgusting rubbish[*] is finding its' way up kids noses. It
wouldn't surprise me if they've switched from the cannabis plant to this
chemical extract due to this hysteria led by the very befuddled and the
exceedingly hypocritical.

[*] I've tried it - it's awful shit.

Half city's youth 'take cocaine'

More than 50% of young people in Liverpool admit to having taken cocaine,
a new report claims.

The finding is part of research that shows an "epidemic" of drug use, with
respondents saying they take drugs and drinking to enhance their sex
lives.

Researchers from Liverpool John Moores University surveyed youngsters from
nine European cities in their study.

Drug and alcohol charity Addaction said the city had been unfairly
pinpointed but the findings were not shocking.

The poll was carried out among 1,341 youngsters and was led by Professor
Mark Bellis, from the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores
University (LJMU).

It showed a third of men and a quarter of women, aged 16 to 35, drank to
increase their chances of having sex.

An "epidemic" of recreational drug use and binge drinking is exposing
millions of youngsters to drugs, which increases their chance of unsafe
sex and increased sexual partners, experts warned.

The authors said these substances altered their sexual decisions and
increased their chances of unsafe and regretted sex.

"For many, substance use has become an integral part of their strategic
approach to sex, locking them into continued use," they said.

'Unfairly' targeted

The cities included were Liverpool, Vienna, Brno in the Czech Republic,
Berlin, Athens, Venice, Lisbon, Ljubljana in Slovenia, and Palma, Spain.

But Elliot Elam, spokesperson for Addaction, the UK's largest drugs and
alcohol charity, said: "I think this report does pinpoint Liverpool a
little unfairly.

"Liverpool was the only British city surveyed and it's like saying Palma
is representative of the whole of Spain - it's not.

"Although I'm not totally shocked by the statistics, we know we have a
problem as compared to the rest of Europe in some areas.

"Drugs, particularly cocaine, are very prevalent and readily available."

He accepted that people "experiment", but often do not have access to
enough information to make proper decisions about what they take.

"There is still an acceptability and cachet to taking cocaine," he said.

"[But] most young won't take drugs in isolation they won't just take
cocaine, ecstasy or cannabis, they will take whatever is available."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/7392263.stm

--
Dr John Watson
Baker Street