Third of students use legal drugs to ‘get high’

A national survey of student drug use has found approximately 30% have used medications prescribed by their GP to “get high” while 18% have used non-prescription drugs to do so.

Findings from the National Student Drugs Survey, due to be published in full in September, show that in less than two hours, students can gain access to potentially harmful prescription medicines, according to a report in the Medical Independent.

Approximately 6% of students reported using non-prescribed opioids (pain-killers) including codeine (for mild pain) and/or morphine (for severe pain) while almost 12% had used the benzodiazepines Xanax or Zopiclone (sedatives used to treat anxiety disorder and panic attacks) in the past year.