Chapter 5 Awareness of Drugs and Attitudes to Drug Taking
Awareness of various drugs
5.1 Awareness of the various drugs asked about was very high. Almost all had heard of cannabis (97 per cent) and of cocaine, ecstasy, heroin, amphetamines, LSD, crack and valium (over 90 per cent in each case). Most had also heard of magic mushrooms, anabolic steroids, methadone and temazepam (around 85 per cent in each case). The least known drug was amyl nitrite (or 'poppers') but 70 per cent of respondents had still heard of it.
5.2 There were very few differences between men and women. Slightly more men were aware of anabolic steroids and 'poppers' (the least known drugs overall).
5.3 In general, levels of awareness were very similar across all age groups. However, respondents in the youngest age-group (16-19) tended to be less aware than those aged 20-59 of those drugs where the overall awareness was lower than average (valium, magic mushrooms, temazepam, methadone, anabolic steroids and poppers).
Attitudes to drug taking
5.4 Respondents were given 7 statements about drugs and drug-taking, and were asked to what extent they agreed with each. The results are shown in Figure 5-1.
Figure 5-1: Agreement with statements on drugs (% respondents)
Note: Responses do not sum to 100 as 'not sure' responses not shown
Source: 2004 Scottish Crime and Victimisation Survey
Base: unweighted n=4201
"Taking drugs you know are illegal is half the fun"
5.5 Over two-thirds of respondents disagreed with the statement, 'taking drugs you know are illegal is half the fun', the majority of respondents (60 per cent) said they disagreed a lot and a further 8 per cent disagreed a little. Only 6 per cent indicated that they agreed a lot with the statement, and 14 per cent agreed a little. A sizeable minority (12 per cent) said they were not sure. Overall, older respondents were more likely to disagree but differences between age-groups were not great.
5.6 The greatest difference was between those who had never taken drugs and those who had 'ever' taken drugs (see Figure 5-2). Those who had ever taken drugs were more likely to agree that "taking drugs you know are illegal is half the fun" (although the difference was in the proportion agreeing a little - few who had taken drugs agreed a lot), and more of those who had not taken drugs disagreed a lot. That said, the overall pattern of responses was the same for both drug takers and those who had never taken any - the majority of those who had taken drugs still tended to disagree with the statement.
5.7 The views of men and women were similar, although slightly more women disagreed a lot.
Figure 5-2: Agreement with "Taking drugs you know are illegal is half the fun"
Source: 2004 Scottish Crime and Victimisation Survey
Bases: unweighted n, never taken drugs=3543, taken drugs=658, all=4201
"Young people start taking drugs just to keep up with their friends"
5.8 There was considerable agreement with the idea that "young people start taking drugs just to keep up with their friends" Overall, 83 per cent of respondents agreed with this statement (42 per cent agreed a lot and 41 per cent agreed a little) and only 13 per cent disagreed. Those in the older age-groups tended to agree more strongly, while younger respondents were more likely to agree a little. There was very little difference on this point between those who had ever taken drugs and those who had not, except that a higher proportion of those who had taken drugs disagreed a lot. Again, the views of men and women were very similar.
"A lot of young people take drugs nowadays"
5.9 There was a high level of agreement with the statement "a lot of young people take drugs nowadays". Overall, more than half (58 per cent) of all respondents agreed a lot and a further 28 per cent agreed a little. Fewer than 1 in 10 (9 per cent) disagreed. There was relatively little variation by age, but younger people were more likely to agree than older people. Those who had taken drugs at some point themselves were more likely to agree. Once again, there was little difference between the perceptions of men and women.
"A lot of crimes are committed by people on drugs"
5.10 Overall, 88 per cent of respondents agreed that "a lot of crimes are committed by people on drugs" and most of them agreed a lot. There was a clear pattern here by age (see Figure 5-3). Although few in any age-group disagreed, older respondents were much more likely than younger respondents to agree a lot, and younger respondents were more likely than older respondents to agree a little. Similarly, while few of those who had taken drugs disagreed with the statement, they were less likely to agree strongly than those who had never taken drug. The views of men and women were very similar.
Figure 5-3: Agreement with "A lot of crimes are committed by people on drugs"
Source: 2004 Scottish Crime and Victimisation Survey
Bases: unweighted n, 16-19=133, 20-24=191, 25-29 =287, 30-34=353, 35-39=447, 40-59=1491, all=2902
"People who have drug problems need help not punishment"
5.11 Despite their agreement that a lot of crimes are committed by people on drugs, over three-quarters (78 per cent) agreed that "people who have drug problems need help not punishment", and only 18 per cent disagreed. There was relatively little difference on this issue by age. There was also not much of a difference between those who had taken drugs and those who had not, although slightly more of the former agreed a lot. Women were slightly more likely than men to agree a lot.
"Injecting drugs is very dangerous"
5.12 There was overwhelming agreement that "injecting drugs is very dangerous": 92 per cent agreed a lot and only 3 per cent disagreed at all. There was so much agreement on this point that discussing differences between sub-groups is potentially misleading. Nonetheless, it is perhaps encouraging that those aged 16-19 were the most likely to agree a lot. Those who had used drugs were also slightly more likely to agree that injecting was very dangerous.
"Taking an illegal drug once won't do you any harm"
5.13 There was not quite such a degree of concurrence with the statement "taking an illegal drug once won't do you any harm". However, 65 per cent disagreed a lot, a further 14 per cent disagreed a little and only 16 per cent agreed. Those aged 20-29 were more likely to agree. Those who had ever taken drugs were much less likely to disagree a lot (see Figure 5-4). That said, overall, less than a third (30 per cent) of those who had ever taken drugs agreed that 'taking an illegal drug once won't do you any harm'. More women than men disagreed a lot with this statement.
Figure 5-4: Agreement with "Taking an illegal drug once won't do you any harm"
Source: 2004 Scottish Crime and Victimisation Survey
Bases: unweighted n, never taken drugs=3543, taken drugs=658, all=4201
Perceptions of harm
5.14 Respondents were provided with a list of different drugs and, for each, were asked "how much do you think people risk harming themselves (physically or in other ways)" if they take that drug once or twice, and if they take that drug regularly. The response categories were 'no risk', 'slight risk', 'moderate risk', 'great risk' and 'not sure'.
5.15 The overall responses are shown in Figure 5-5. A mean score was calculated by assigning the following values to the responses: 'no risk'=0, 'slight risk'=1, 'moderate risk'=2 and 'great risk'=3.
Figure 5-5: Perceived risk of harm from different drugs (mean score)
Source: 2004 Scottish Crime and Victimisation Surveys
Base: unweighted n=2242
5.16 Taking heroin regularly was perceived to carry the greatest risk and taking cannabis occasionally was seen to be least risky. The full results for heroin and cannabis are shown in Figure 5-6. While few thought there was 'no risk' from occasional cannabis use, there was a fairly even split among respondents as to whether it poses a 'slight', 'moderate' or 'great' risk. Regular cannabis use was seen as considerably more risky, with 36 per cent thinking regular users face a 'great' risk of harming themselves. Interestingly, few indicated that they were 'not sure', which is perhaps surprising given recent debates about the evidence of harm and the classification of the drug, and concerns that policy messages are mixed. 14On the other hand, using heroin even once or twice was seen as very risky: 83 per cent of respondents thought the risk was 'great'.
Figure 5-6: Perceived risk of harm from cannabis and heroin (% respondents)
Source: 2004 Scottish Crime and Victimisation Survey
Base: unweighted n=2968
5.17 Perceptions of risk for all drugs varied by age (older respondents perceived the risks to be higher), by sex (women perceived the risks to be slightly higher) and by drug taking history (those who had never taken drugs perceived the risks to be higher than those who had taken drugs, and those who had taken drugs at some point but not in the past year perceived the risks to be higher than those who had taken drugs in the past year).