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Clitheroe 422324 (Editorial), 422323 (Advertising), Burnley 422331 (Classified) M .


Protection Money


with Ben Carlish


THIS week marks the launch of a campaign in the Clitheroc Advertiser and Times targetting the increasing problem of drug abuse among young people in the Ribble Valley. As part of a monthly feature, we hope


to promote understanding about many various aspects of this very real prob­ lem. Our aim is to inform and educate,


not to sensationalise the situation. "It might go on in run-down inner-city


in conjunction with Activate


estates, but not here in the countryside," some might say. A recent government sur­ vey contradicts this view. Its shocking find­


ings showed that 27.4 per cent of 14 and 15- year-olds had used illegal drugs in rural areas compared to 19.2 per cent in cities


and towns. "Hut my children wouldn't get up to that


sort of thing," might be (he response of some parents — but can any parents say they honestly know their teenage children's whereabouts 21-hours a day?


Activate, the Ribble Valley drug aware­


ness group, has just conducted the area's first-ever extensive survey into drug taking among Ribble Valley teenagers. Here we look at its findings as well as local young people's views on the subje ct. In conjunction with groups like Activate


and with you, our readers, we feel together we can take meaningful action on drug abuse in the area and have a real impact. In this spirit please read on . . .


Proportion of young taking drink and drugs is more than in cities


A GREATER proportion of young people in the Ribble Valley are taking drugs and drink than in most cities and towns, according to the alarm­ ing results of the first-ever extensive survey on the sub­


ject in the area. Five hundred detailed question­


naires were distributed by Acti­ vate drug awareness group worker Lisa Harvey among Ribble Valley youths aged between 12 and 17, in schools, youth clubs and on the


streets. The results shed a great deal of


light on the drug taking and drink­ ing culture among our youngsters (see graph). They reflect the nation­ al trend which suggests there are more young people in the country­ side taking drugs than in the city. For example, recent government


they were the same. This compares to 12 per cent of Ribble Valley youngsters from the same age group, who considered themselves


regular users. Unsurprisingly, the most com­


research concluded 11 per cent of boys, aged between 14 and 15, said they were regular drug users and 8.8 per cent of 14-15 year-old girls said


mon drug used was alcohol, with 77 per cent of respondents having a drink. Many people do not regard alcohol as a drug, because it is legal and readily available. Similarly, tobacco, at 55 per cent, may not be regarded as a drug. But, as Lisa was keen to point out, cigarettes and alcohol are two of the biggest killers in this country. She said: "Our sur­ vey showed two per cent of 13-year- olds had drunk alcohol; that increased by 18 per cent for 14-year- olds. Do we want young people drinking at such an early age and so frequently? Drinking is an accept­ able part of our society, and, to a lesser extent now, so is smoking. If we want to make an impact, we have to tackle the problem from an early age." Cannabis was the next most com­ monly-used drug, with teenagers as


young as 13 trying it. Thirty per cent of youngsters responding to the questionnaire had tried it, while in the government study 20 per cent had taken it. In some circles cannabis has become regarded as a soft drug - but scientists are still unable to conclusively prove its long term ill- effects on the brain. As Lisa pointed out, though, because it is often smoked with unfiltered tobac­ co, it can double the harmful effects


to the body. Perhaps one of the most shocking


revelations from the survey is the re-emergence of solvent abuse, with eight per cent trying it and 16 per cent trying amyl nitrate, known as "poppers", a semi-legal drug readily available, which gives the user a


"rush" when inhaled. Lisa commented: "Solvent and


nitrate abuse has not been fashion­ able among teenagers for overlO years. So, it is a relatively high per­ centage in our survey and it is a concern because substances like lighter gas, deodorant, polish, nail varnish and glue are readily avail­


able and they can all be instant


killers." Heroin use and availability


appears to be thankfully low, but the facts that seven per cent of all teenagers were offered ecstasy and some were offered crack cocaine, are causes for alarm. Lisa said perhaps the most signif­


icant finding of the survey was the help young people in the Ribble Val­ ley were asking for. "They want more information on drugs. They have gleaned some facts from schools, parents and the media, but, when asked, they said they wanted more on the effects of drugs and about real-life situations they may encounter. Parents should not be panicking because not every young person is taking drugs, but if they are concerned they should get in touch with us for information and


advice." © Contact the Activate Advice


Line on 01200 444484. All calls are dealt with in the strictest of confi­


dence.


Volunteers reaching out on the streets to help solve problems


Lisa (left) and Julie, of A c t iv a te , o u t on th e s t r e e t s o f C l i lh e ro e talking to youngsters, whose laces have been


blurred to protect their identities (190199/5/0)


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IT is a cold and wet Mon­ day evening as 1 set out on the streets of Clitheroe with Activate outreach workers Lisa Harvey and Julie Patel, writes Hen Carlish. We’re looking for any young people out and about as part of Activated out-reach work, in which workers like Julie (29) and Lisa (19) talk to young­ sters about their interests and problems. The idea, as youth work­


V


to do of an evening. We hope, by talking to us, we can have some influence over the choices they make." As we make our way


through town, the market place and towards the Cas­ tle grounds, it is unusually quiet. But then we come across a group of about ten teenagers hanging around by one of the entrances to the Castle grounds. Lisa and Julie are on first


er Julie explains, is to first win the confidence of the teenagers, before talking to them about drugs and the dangers connected with them. As a peer educator, Lisa says it is hoped they will open up and listen more to people from their own age


group. • Lisa, who is currently act­


ing Activate co-ordinator and a youth and communi­ ty group degree student at Lancaster University, explains: "A lot of the peo­ ple we talk to are at that age where they want to experi­ ment, particularly, when there is very little for them


one night a week and for the rest of it we just hang around, even when it's freez­ ing and wet. We get moved on by the police all the time. We don't want to cause any trouble, we just want some­ where to go,” he says shi ug-


ging his shoulders. 1 introduce myself and


name terms with a lot of the youngsters they work with, but they have not come across this group before. At first, we are treated with suspicion, but Julie steps forward and introduces her­ self and tells them what we are about. They are a friendly bunch


tell them that I work for the Clilheroe Advertiser and Times and that we are start­ ing a campaign on drug awareness. "I’m an addict," blurts


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alcopops, but we just do it at weekends now. We get really drunk sometimes. You just get bored other­ wise. It's a good laugh. We wouldn't do it so often, though, if there was a youth club, or something,


we could go to." We break off our conver­


out the smallest with brava­ do. The others tell him to


and before long open up to us. "We just want some­ where to go - there’s nothing for us to do around here," says one. "We just get moved on by the police all the lime," says another. One young lad explains they have only one place to go on Fridays, a local church hall, where they can play football and hockey. "But that’s only


shut up and "stop being daft." Some of them say they have smoked "weed” (cannabis) and they knew a lad who tried ecstasy, but that was because he had mental problems. They know two or three dealers in town, but, not surprisingly, they will not say where they live. "We all drink booze


sation when an unmarked police car pulls up by the gang. A policewoman leans out of the window and says: "We've told you lot before, you've to inform us if you change location." Lisa and Julie explain who they are to the police officers, who in turn explain to them that they moved the gang on previously, because they were playing football in the street, which, they said, could damage people’s prop­


erty. After warning them to


though," says one enthusias­ tically. "It's easy to get when you know which shops will sell it to you. We used to drink five bottles a night sometimes, beer and


behave themselves, they leave the group alone. One of the teenagers complains: "It's like this every night. You get fed up of it. We're not doing anything wrong, but we just get told to move on all the time."


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