Research for Channel Four’s Dispatches programme has shown a link between drugs and secondary pupils who carry weapons. Exeter University’s schools health education unit surveyed more than 11,000 pupils across England.
Just over a third of boys aged 14 and 15 who had never taken drugs claimed to have friends who carried guns or knives. The figures rose to 46 per cent of those who had taken one drug, 51 per cent of those who had taken two drugs, and 70 per cent of those who admitted using three or more drugs. Figures for girls showed a rise from 10 per cent to 36 per cent.
