Drugs and Alcohol
Recreational Drug Use Amongst Clubbers in the South East of England
Illicit drugs have been associated with the 'rave culture' since its emergence in the late 1980s, but with the commercialisation of the dance scene it is suggested that more young people are now experimenting with illicit drugs. This study, by the Research Development & Statistics Directorate, focused on clubbers attending mainstream nightclubs to assess their illicit drug , alcohol and tobacco use. This reflected the role of drugs in the 'dance' culture, and strategies used by drug-taking clubbers to minimise risks.
Title: Recreational Drug Use Amongst Clubbers in the South East of England
Author:
Research
Development & Statistics Directorate
Series: Findings 208
Date Published: December 2003
Number of pages: 4
A survey of club-goers was undertaken across 8 events in 6 nightclubs in South East England. 760 clubbers were interviewed at the events. Each club was selected as a mainstream commercial venue. Attempts were made to recruit even numbers of male and female clubbers.
Main Findings
79% of the clubbers questioned had taken drugs at some time in their life, compared with 50% of 16-to-29 year-olds surveyed for the British Crime Survey 2000. Levels and patterns of drug use varied greatly from 9% at a leisure park event to 70% at an established dance/gay club.
The most commonly used drug whilst clubbing was
ecstasy primarily
cannabis secondly
cocaine thirdly.
Compared with lapsed drug users, current drug users were experimenting with a wider range of substances, including synthetic drugs such as ketamine and GHB.
Despite such high levels of drug use, less than half of the current drug users felt that taking drugs was an integral part of their social life.
Most of the club-goers had drunk alcohol on the night of the interview and two-thirds of these were classified as hazardous drinkers. A third of the overall sample was using both drugs and alcohol on the night of the survey.
Most of those interviewed had actively sought information about the physical and mental health consequences and had taken measures to minimise those risks.
Interviewees bought their drugs from trusted known suppliers – usually friends – and brought them to the venue. They felt this minimised both the health risks and legal consequences of their drug taking.
A rigorous search policy would appear to be the most effective means of reducing drug taking inside clubbing venues. In addition, venues should be designed to minimise potential adverse reactions, with space, ventilation, cooling off areas, free water and properly trained staff .
The 1990s saw the emergence of widespread recreational drug use amongst young people. The 2000 British Crime Survey (BCS) reports that around a third of both 16-to-19-year-olds and 20-to 24-year-olds admitted using drugs in the previous year.
As dance music and club culture have been absorbed by mainstream youth culture there has been an increasing concern about the use of recreational 'dance drugs' such as ecstasy, amphetamines and LSD.
In addition, clubs are now often perceived as late night bars and, therefore, alcohol use amongst clubbers has become more of an issue. This raises not only the public health aspect of excessive alcohol consumption, but additional concerns about the potential harm when alcohol and drugs are consumed together.
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Last update: 06/01/04