Over half of more than 1,500 students who took part in a nationwide survey feel that drug use is a normal part of student life.
That was among the findings of The Drug Use in Higher Education Institutions survey which was carried out by a team in UCC.
They surveyed 1,500 under- and post-graduate students across 21 higher education institutions.
One-fifth reported using drugs in the last month.
Over half surveyed reported ever using illegal drugs, with over a third reporting drug use in the past year.
Speaking to RedFM News, Welfare Officer at UCC Students Union, Caoimhe Walsh said that while you can't force people to stop using drugs, you can teach them about their dangers:
"Next week, we're actually running a Drug Awareness & Harm Reduction Week in UCC, run by the Students Union, focusing in on that. So from Monday to Thursday, we'll be focusing in on, let's say, different drugs per day, and we'll be, just like the risks around taking them, and tips on if you are going to do it, you know, because like in our opinion, like, you're not, you can't stop people from doing it, but you can at least show people how to do it safely and hopefully just teach them, you know, the dangers of the dangers of drug use."
