This is according to a study on drug use in higher education institutions in Ireland (DUHEI). The survey found that 43,8 percent of current users were at moderate risk for harm from drug use, and 9,1 percent at significant risk.
The chance of serious drug damage was only 1,4 percent, the report found. The DUHEI survey advises those at low risk to be checked and reassessed at a later date. Those at significant and serious risk of harm from use should be assessed intensively.
Collateral damage from drug use
Of course there can be physical damage from excessive drug use, but there are also sometimes side effects. Some of the reported harms mentioned in the research report include unprotected or unintended sex and getting into fights. The large survey analyzed more than 11.500 valid responses (out of 13.681 total) from students at 21 higher education institutions to get a clear picture of drug use among Irish university students. It featured responses from both undergraduate and postgraduate students aged 18 and over.
More than 50 percent of higher education students reported illegal drugs with more than a third reporting drug use in the past year and a fifth reporting drug use in the past month. The survey also found that current drug use increases year on year, peaking in the last two years of college.
Most Popular Drugs at University of Applied Sciences
The most popular drugs are cannabis (52%), cocaine (25%) and ecstasy (23%), also mentioning ketamine, mushrooms, amphetamines and new psychoactive substances. Most types of drugs were used between the ages of 19 and 21. For cannabis, this was between the ages of 16 and 18. One in four current users started before the age of XNUMX.
It was noted that male students are more likely to report current drug use (1 in 4) compared to females (1 in 6). More than half of the students considered drug use to be a normal part of student life, but more than half felt that drug use also has a somewhat negative or very negative impact on student life.
Of those who used drugs during the Covid-19 pandemic, 1 in 3 students had reduced their use, while less than 1 in 4 had increased their use during this time.
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