site.btaPolled by Club for Civic Initiatives, Some 15% of School Leavers Say They Use Drugs Regularly

Around 15% of 12th grade students said they used drugs regularly, and over 30% said they took drugs occasionally, at a party or when meeting up with friends, according to the Club for Civic Initiatives. It quoted anonymous polls taken by experts among school leavers in Sofia and around the country, BTA learned from the Club's Chairman, Kalin Taushanov.

At the end of the 8th grade, 70% of respondents said they had tried some psychoactive substance, including alcohol. In most cases they were talking about balloons and light drugs in general, Taushanov said. Although the polls do not claim to be nationally representative, the findings are startling.

The age of initiation of drug use has dropped to 10-12 years, meaning that early prevention is key so that children can choose a life without drugs, he said.

The civic initiative has launched a campaign mottoed "One Gram of Life", dedicated to the need for early prevention.