A quarter of children have now tried drugs
SOCIAL media is being blamed for a boom in drug use among children, as a quarter of school pupils now claim to have taken illegal substances.
Charities last night warned that children have never been more exposed to drugs.
An official report released yesterday said the number of 11- to 15-year- olds who had admitted to trying drugs had shot up from 15 to 24 per cent in just two years.
Experts said dangerous substances, from cannabis to cocaine, were more available than ever with youngsters able to access them on social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat.
The warning comes weeks after a Daily Mail investigation exposed how drug dealers were openly using the platforms to target children.
Almost a fifth of pupils said they had taken drugs within the past year, with girls just as likely as boys to have used them.
More than one in ten 11-yearolds said they had tried drugs, rising to 37 per cent by the age of 15, according to the data compiled by NHS Digital. Nick Hickmott, from charity Addaction, said: ‘The exposure is greater year upon year for young people, especially around substances like cannabis.
‘It’s just not like it was even five years ago where people had to jump through hoops to get certain substances. Now there’s a plethora of drugs available.
‘We’re also seeing them marketed to young people via social media sites such as Instagram and Snapchat, so you’ve got a whole new realm of introducing substances to young people.’
The annual survey was completed by pupils in England under exam conditions to prevent them being influenced by others. It showed that while drug use among pupils had gradually fallen since 2001, the trend began to reverse in 2014 and continued to rise to the latest figures, recorded in 2016.
Cannabis remained the most popular drug, with 8 per cent saying they had tried it in the past year – a similar figure to 2014 but below the 13 per cent in 2001.
Last month, social media sites were found to host thousands of posts and accounts linked with dealers. Drug pushers use hashtags and photography to flaunt stock and direct customers to their accounts on encrypted messenger apps which protect their identity.