One in two students takes drugs

HALF of the country's 122,000 students use drugs regularly, according to a survey by the Union of Students of Ireland.

As Britain moved to relax the laws in relation to cannabis use, the USI poll showed that one in four Irish students started taking drugs before they were 16, with 14% saying they were dependent and felt they needed help to stop.

The most common drug used was cannabis, followed by ecstasy, acid, magic mushrooms, speed and cocaine.