The research was carried out by holding a series of focus groups in four of the most recurrently problematic areas of North Belfast. One hundred and eighty people between the ages of 14 and 70 took part in the discussions, while 139 of them also completed a short questionaire about their experiences in using drugs.

I've seen a nine year old smoking a joint, you feel like taking it off them because they are so young, it looks wrong (Respondent 14-16).

Many of the findings indicate little more than the fact that the experience of drug use in North Belfast is very similar to other parts of the United Kingdom: most people who used illegal drugs had first tried them around the age of 14 (although age of first use seemed to be getting younger, with many claiming children of primary school age were using drugs); cannabis is the most popular and widely used drug, with ecstacy a clear second favourite; a wide range of drugs are increasingly easy to buy, and are available in a variety of locations; while many of the younger respondents somewhat worryingly claimed that drugs were often readily available, and regularly consumed, in schools.

However the report also revealed a number of facets of drug use that have less frequently been raised in many attitudinal surveys, but which indicate something of the breadth and depth of the potential problems related to an increasing acceptance of drugs and drug use.

A social drink is OK. My husband buys four wee beers and lets my son have two. I gave off to him but his view is you take the taboo out of it (Respondent 30-70).

The focus group discussions covered respondents use of a broad range of drugs, both legal and illegal, and these suggested that while use of illegal substances was widespread these were merely one part of a broad cocktail of substances that were being consumed. Many people were introduced to drug consumption through use of alcohol, tobacco and solvents, sometimes from as young as nine years old, before moving on to substances such as cannabis and ecstacy. For many people alcohol was not even considered to be a drug, and some parents encouraged children to use alcohol in the hope of keeping them away from illegal substance.

My ma and auntie get depression drugs off the doctor. I took two of them and was stoned, it was great (Respondent 14-21)

The use of prescription drugs, particularly tranquilisers, anti-depressants and pain-killers was also widespread and drugs such as Daizepam, Temazepam and Kapake were being bought, sold and shared in much the same way as illegal drugs. Many people claimed that such drugs were easily obtained from local GPs and had become incorporated into the daily routines to help one get through the day or to 'steady the nerves'. Other used prescription drugs as part of their social consumption: some mixed a range of pills with alcohol; others used them to ease the come down from other drugs.

Two people I know got into £800 worth of debt, all there holiday money was gone, their mum had to bail them out (Respondent 14-16)

Many people said that they resorted to drugs to help them escape the boredom and frustration of a daily routine and the emptiness of their lives, but drugs were also a major contributory factor in the social problems in the area. The need for cash to pay for drugs easily leads to problems with debt. Some people turned to crime and stealing to pay their debts and to sustain their habits, but this could also bring them into contact with the local paramilitaries and with it the fear of violent retribution for anti-social behaviour.

Girls will deliberately date drug dealers and some of them sleep with them to get the stuff (Respondent 21-48)

Young women were involved in the drug scene as much as young men but they also had different motivations and approaches to the subject. Some claimed that young girls could access drugs more easily, either because they could look older than they were and therefore gain access to bars and clubs more easily, or because they were prepared to exchange sex for drugs. It was also claimed that ecstacy and speed were used by girls as a means of reducing ones appetite and therefore as a form of weight control.

Your form teacher does a class with you, we know more than her to start off with (Respondent 14-17)

This last issue illustrates one of the primary problems with regard to the growing presence of drugs in the area: the overall lack of information that many people have to inform their attitudes and actions on this subject. Many of the young people who took part in the focus groups were scathing about the quality of drugs education they received at school.

Similarly many parents felt unable to address the problem of drug use among their children because of a lack of knowledge, or a lack of anyone to turn to for help. The statutory bodies such as the Social Services, the police, the education system and local GPs were variously regarded with a sense of fear, loathing, cynicism and mistrust which forced many people to rely on family or friends for assistance or to try to deal with problems alone.

The research thus revealed not only that there is an increasing presence of a wide variety drugs across North Belfast but also something of a void in terms of any form of effective and acceptable support, education and information programmes to help respond to growing concerns. Unless this problem is recognised and addressed North Belfast will increasingly be in the news for other reasons than a recurrence of fighting in the streets.

The report Blotting It Out: Perceptions and patterns of drug use in four communities in North Belfast is available from Radical, c/o North Belfast Partnership, North City Business Centre, 2 Duncairn Gardens Belfast BT15 2GG.

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