Cocaine is the second most commonly used drug among students in Ireland, according to a new survey.
In first place for recreational drug use with this cohort is cannabis, while cocaine is now thought to be more widely used today than ecstasy.
The surveyed population included undergraduate and postgraduate students aged 18 years and over.
Among the findings of the Drug Use in Higher Education Ireland’s survey- which is funded by the Department of Education - were that:
- Over half of students surveyed reported using an illicit drug, with over one-third reporting drug use in the last year, and one-fifth reporting using drugs in the last month.
- Over half of students surveyed felt drug use is a normal part of student life, but over half also felt drug use has a somewhat negative or an extremely negative impact on student life.
It also showed that one in three students had reduced their use of narcotics during the Covid-19 pandemic, but one in four said their use increased.
One in four students that are men and one in six that are women admitted to using drugs on a current basis.
The most commonly used drugs are:
- cannabis (52%)
- cocaine (25%)
- ecstasy (23%)
- ketamine (16%)
- mushrooms (12%)
- amphetamines (9%)
- New Psychoactive Substances (8%)
For the majority of drug types, the age of first use was between 19 - 21, whereas for cannabis it was between 16 - 18.
One in four current users say they started taking drugs before they were 16-years-old.
According to Ireland’s drug crisis campaign, there has been a consistent increase in drug use in the Irish population since regular population surveying began in 2002, with males and young people being the most common users.
