Cocaine replaces ecstasy as second drug of choice for students

Most commonly used drugs among students are cannabis (52%); cocaine (25%); ecstasy (23%); ketamine (16%); mushrooms (12%); amphetamines (9%); and new psychoactive substances (8%).

More than half of third-level students have taken illicit drugs, as cocaine replaces ecstasy as the drug of choice after cannabis.

A new national survey aimed at determining the prevalence and type of drug use among the third-level student population analysed more than 11,500 responses from students across 21 higher education institutions, providing insight into the effects of drug use on student success, health and wellbeing.