Dial-a-deal

Some drugs are widely available. It's a question of market forces. According to the British Crime Survey (England and Wales), 51% of people aged 16—24 have taken illegal drugs at some point. Twenty per cent in this age-group told the survey they had taken illegal drugs within the last month, suggesting that they might be regular users.

So, for a sizeable minority of young people, it seems, using prohibited drugs is a 'normal' part of social life. Cannabis is by far the most popular prohibited drug, although the 'dance drugs' – amphetamines, LSD, nitrites (poppers) and ecstasy – and cocaine are also easily available.

Drug use in the young deaf community is reportedly on the increase, perhaps partly because text messaging on mobile phones has made buying and selling drugs easier for deaf people.

'Paul', who is 25, unemployed, and lives in the Midlands, told VEE-TV he had his first spliff when he was 16. 'It was the usual progression from the first cig, first pint and first spliff – it was just another cool thing to do because everyone else was doing it,' he says. 'Drug use within student communities is purely recreational – it's controlled and harmless fun. It's not a "problem" like that of the drug-related crimes and poverty of council estates.

'I started dealing because I realised I could get drugs cheaper for myself and make a profit by selling to others. It's not just because of SMS [Short Message Service or text messaging] – before we used mobiles we had pagers and minicoms. But mobiles do make it quicker.

'It's a social thing, a cool thing. We go to festivals and house parties. It's also about music. Although deaf people can't hear they enjoy the atmosphere.

'I think that deaf people only have a problem with drugs when they do not have access to information or are not educated about using drugs and don't know how to control it … In any case, alcohol abuse is obviously more of a serious issue with young deaf people.'

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