Drug taking in adolescent girls: factors associated with the progression to narcotic use.

A follow-up study of girls in a London remand home during the years 1966-8 showed that 20.6% of those taking non-narcotic drugs on admission, but only 1% of non-drug-taking control admissions, had used narcotics by June 1970. Narcotic use on admission and progression to narcotic use were associated with frequent drug taking, marked involvement in a drug milieu, and a high incidence of personal morbidity. Adolescents who use illicit drugs and have a history of court appearances for any reason are particularly vulnerable to subsequent narcotic usage and other forms of serious drug abuse.