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This project is about finding out about patterns of drug use in your local area. The first step is to decide exactly what you want to find out. You might focus on:

• drug use among different age groups - for example, young people, adults or the elderly.
• different drugs - all drugs, legal and illegal; just illegal drugs; or specific drugs such as alcohol, cannabis or heroin.

Once you have decided which group and drugs to focus on think about some of the questions you need to answer. These may include:

	How many people are using?
	Why might they be using?
	How often do they use - occasionally, regularly, everyday?
	Where are people and what are they doing when they are using drugs?
	How have patterns of drug use changed in recent years?
	What problems is the drug use causing for the people who are using the drugs?
	What problems is the drug use causing for other people?
	What is being done about it locally?

First write down your own answers to these questions. The next step is to get some more information about patterns of drug use in your area. To do this:

Find out if there have been any studies or surveys carried out about drug use in your area by contacting your local:

• Drug service such as Community Drug Team
• Health Promotion Department (Health Service)
• Education Department. They should have a Health Education Adviser who should be able to help you
• Community police.

Conduct your own survey by asking local people about what they think is happening locally. You might ask:

• teachers
• other young people
• your parents and other adults
• professionals such as police youth workers, drug workers, social workers etc.
• Write up your findings in your project book.
  

Resources

Here are a selection of websites that may help with your project. Please remember that DrugScope/D-World cannot be held responsible for the content of other sites.

DAT Directory Online directory of Drug Action Teams in England.

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