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Young people’s views on drugs and the law
Young people we spoke with had different views about whether drugs should be legalised. Some had strong views for or against legalising drugs but most...
The experiences of several young people seemed to show that drug use, crime and anti-social behaviour are closely linked. Drug use and crime, often go hand-hand but most drug users don’t get into trouble with the law.
Some young people had been the victim of violence, mostly when drunk rather than on drugs. Some young people had experience of incidents involving anti-social behaviour or committing violent acts. Their behaviour had got some of them into trouble with the police or caught the attention of Social Services. Mary Ann was at risk of having her son put on the Child Protection Register. Her son’s father had a problem with drug addiction and had criminal convictions. Daniel was arrested and spent a night in jail for anti-social behaviour when under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Peter got into an argument with his neighbours when intoxicated, and the police got involved (see also ‘Stopping or cutting down on the use of illegal drugs‘, ‘Alcohol and risks to self and others‘ and ‘Family relationships drugs and alcohol‘).
Jim started shoplifting to feed his heroin dependency. Steph and her siblings were forced to steal by their mother who later sold the goods or exchanged them for heroin.
The police routinely ‘stop and search’ people on the estate where Karis and Kasim live. At first they were against it because they thought the police would be discriminatory about who they searched. In practice they have seen the police stopping and searching a wider section of the community.
Young people we spoke with had different views about whether drugs should be legalised. Some had strong views for or against legalising drugs but most...
Mixing drinks and drinking to excess was common among the young people we spoke to but drinking habits often changed as they got older. Joe...