And then they ask us, why we left Britain . . .

05.03.06, 20:13

If this article from the online Torygraph at
tinyurl.com/k3zyu is anything to go by, the UK is rapidly disappearing
up its own narked-up sphincter, and for all the cameras on every street
cornered and the overpopulated prisons, nobody seems able to do a blind thing
about it. Can't we just slip some slow acting toxin into the supply line and
have done with the problem? Is that, like, too much to ask?

Do middle class people leaving this country and going with their kids over
there to join the lower class know what they are getting into?

Here is what it says:

Up to 35,000 children under 16 are using heroin, according to official
figures.

The alarming scale of heroin abuse by children is revealed just a week after
an 11-year-old girl collapsed at her primary school desk in Glasgow after
smoking the drug.


Gaille McCann: 'the girl wasn't an isolated case'
Until now, figures on heroin addiction among children were based on research
collated from just two cities, Glasgow and Newcastle upon Tyne, where 90
heroin addicts under 13 were discovered.

But new Government figures, based on a nationwide survey, show that the
problem is much more widespread than originally thought. One leading academic
on child drug abuse said last night that the number of schoolchildren using
heroin could be as high as 60,000.

Doctors said the figure showed that heroin was a ticking "health time bomb"
and parents called for urgent action by the Government.

Gaille McCann, a spokesman for Mothers Against Drugs, said last night: "The
Government's own figures prove that the 11-year-old girl wasn't an isolated
case.

"They keep trying to reassure us that there isn't a crisis but they need to
stop pretending and act quickly before the situation gets out of control."

Dr Paul Skett, an addiction expert from Glasgow University, gave warning that
heroin abuse could cause serious long-term damage to children's
health. "Heroin affects the brain, hormonal and sexual development which
means children won't develop properly and girls might not be able to have
children when they are older," he said.

The Government findings, from the study Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use Among
Young People in England in 2004, states that in each year since 2000 one per
cent of all schoolchildren used heroin at least once.

More than 9,700 children aged 11 to 15 were interviewed. A similar survey was
conducted in Scotland, where the same percentage of heroin users was found
among 7,000 schoolchildren.

Elizabeth Fuller, the lead statistician on the Government survey, said that
the figure was rounded up from 0.7 per cent but margins of error meant that
the figure could be 0.5 per cent or 0.9 per cent - putting the nationwide
number of children taking heroin at between 19,500 and 35,100.

Prof Neil McKeganey, a narcotics expert from Glasgow University, said the
figure could be much higher than 35,000 and would continue to rise.

"Growing numbers of children are being exposed to heroin from infancy," he
said. "Around 300,000 children growing up in the UK have one or both parents
addicted to heroin. These children assume heroin use is quite normal."

Sarah Compton, 29, who became hooked on heroin after suffering sexual abuse
as a child and is currently in rehabilitation with the charity Phoenix House,
said: "I went to a Catholic school where they didn't warn us about the
dangers of drink and drugs until we were 13 and 14, and by then it was too
late. It's not unusual to be doing A-class drugs at 12."

Kelly Anderson, 27, from Newcastle, whose spiral towards heroin addiction
began at 14, said: "I'm not surprised that there are 11-year-olds on heroin.
I've seen it before. It's definitely usual for kids around 14."

Andrew Lansley, the shadow health secretary said: "We need effective measures
to create awareness in young people of the risks."

The Department of Health said: "We have made sure that all schools receive
guidance on solvents, drugs and alcohol."
    • nasza_maggie Re: And then they ask us, why we left Britain . . 05.03.06, 22:54
      I as many others, left for (many) different reasons but I see your point.
      • usenetposts Re: And then they ask us, why we left Britain . . 05.03.06, 23:05
        Yeah, I didn't leave for any particular reason, but that ios one of a series of
        reasons why I'd be in no hurry to go back. These people are all gonna need to
        be thieving and mugging to support their habits.
        • russh Re: And then they ask us, why we left Britain . . 05.03.06, 23:09
          The bad news, I am told by many people, is that drug use is increasing here as
          well, especially in secondary schools and university.

          It seems, unfortunately, to be a modern-day problem, which all countries have
          got to deal with. The UK may be one of the worst, but it's not the only one.
          • ms.jones Re: And then they ask us, why we left Britain . . 05.03.06, 23:16
            I hear on the radio that you can get a gram of heroine for £30. The price of
            two pizzas with a couple of drinks.
            • dandywarhol Re: And then they ask us, why we left Britain . . 06.03.06, 00:04
              What exactly is making them think they won't end up as dirty disheveled street
              junkies? (Oh wait, they're kids... not exactly rational) Requiem for a Dream
              must not have played at enough cinemas over there - I still shudder just
              thinking about that film. Hell, even Trainspotting was enough to make me not
              want to do heroin despite the rather sympathetic portrayals. Well, maybe that
              was it, it could also have been my friends who had a rather dim view of junkies
              having grown up in Portland and seen enough strung-out smackheads to keep
              themselves out of that particular vice.

              Some people are going to destroy themselves no matter what you do, the method
              chosen depends on access and preference, if they can't get heroin it'll be
              alcohol or driving too fast or jumping off tall places. They tried to ban
              drinking in the US - all that got everyone was a Mafia 100x stronger than
              before. Now, alcohol obviously has much wider appeal than heroin, but then it's
              much easier to not kill yourself drinking. Hardly impossible though is it?

              Dumbass street dealers no doubt have something to do with it - if they think
              they can sell to 11-year-olds without a problem maybe they need to be shown
              different. Of course it's quite possible that particular 11-year-old had been by
              to buy Mommy a fix many times before and it just took that long for the kid to
              partake.

              There's a quote in there about 300,000 children living in households where one
              or more parents is addicted to heroin. Is Britain really OK with knowing someone
              is a junkie and letting them hold on to their kids? Oh, hold on, apparently so,
              since there's another story in the Telegraph about a methadone clinic patient
              whose toddler died after drinking a dose of methadone. Maybe that should be
              addressed, hmm?
              • kylie1 Re: And then they ask us, why we left Britain . . 06.03.06, 07:49
                dandywarhol,

                what is it exactly you are trying to say. You got me lost.
                Right up till now you've said:

                - drugs are bad?
                - alcohol is bad?...we know that.
                - "Dumbass street dealers no doubt have something to do with it"

                (well, yeaaaahhh...I would think so...isn't that how the business is run when
                dealers are happy and users are happy?)

                - keep meathadone away from kids

                What is it about your friends in Portland again?

                smile



              • usenetposts Re: And then they ask us, why we left Britain . . 06.03.06, 12:20
                dandywarhol napisał:

                > What exactly is making them think they won't end up as dirty disheveled street
                > junkies? (Oh wait, they're kids... not exactly rational) Requiem for a Dream
                > must not have played at enough cinemas over there - I still shudder just
                > thinking about that film. Hell, even Trainspotting was enough to make me not
                > want to do heroin despite the rather sympathetic portrayals

                On the subject of Trainspotting, thanks for reminding me I was going to make an
                announcement. I'll just go and do that before I forget again...
          • ianek70 Re: And then they ask us, why we left Britain . . 07.03.06, 13:41
            russh napisał:

            > The bad news, I am told by many people, is that drug use is increasing here as
            > well, especially in secondary schools and university.

            It's all relative.
            Between 1997 and 2001, convictions for drug trafficking offences doubled in
            Poland, from 1,006 to 2,219.
            During the same period, the number of such convictions in Scotland increased by
            only 20% from 8,180 to 10,293.
    • ianek70 Re: Drugs 07.03.06, 14:07
      usenetposts napisał:

      > If this article from the online Torygraph at
      > tinyurl.com/k3zyu is
      anything to go by, the UK is rapidly disappearing
      > up its own narked-up sphincter, and for all the cameras on every street
      > cornered and the overpopulated prisons, nobody seems able to do a blind thing
      > about it.

      Not everything's done within reach of the cameras, the films can sometimes go
      missing (like after the London Tube shooting) and if the face on a video looks
      a bit like the face of a dealer, is that evidence?
      99% of British police officers would laugh at the offer of a Ł3.50 bribe (20zł,
      the price of a flaszka), but not necessarily because they're uncorruptible.
      And if anyone had a solution to the problem, the prisons would be almost empty.

      Can't we just slip some slow acting toxin into the supply line and
      > have done with the problem? Is that, like, too much to ask?

      The death sentence for stupidity or desperation? Not very Christian...

      > Do middle class people leaving this country and going with their kids over
      > there to join the lower class know what they are getting into?

      No, a lot of them are shockingly naive.
      Pick a few threads at random from:
      forum.gazeta.pl/forum/71,1.html?f=720
      There are drugs, and there are drugs. Some are more legal than others, some are
      safer than others. Adults should be allowed to choose what they poison
      themselves with. If people use heroin and can afford it, and therefore don't go
      out robbing, it's their problem. If people are addicted to nicotine and blow
      cigarette smoke on me, that bothers me, these people are antisocial.
      Of course anyone who sells heroin to children should be shot.

      On the same story:
      www.theherald.co.uk/news/57518.html
      Background info:
      www.aegis.com/news/ads/2000/AD001927.html
      www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=19050&nfid=rssfeeds
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