Drug Misuse Among University Students in the UK: Implications for Prevention

Abstract

Aims: The aim of the research was to identify the types of drugs currently being used by university students, their involvement in multiple drug misuse and drug combinations, and the consequences of drug misuse in terms of associated harms. Methods: The research was based on an email survey of all first- and second-year students registered as undergraduates at a university in south Wales during October 2012. Results: The results of the research showed that drug misuse on the university campus studied was widespread in terms of the types and patterns of drug misuse. The most troublesome findings concern the high levels of multiple drug use, the use of some of the most dangerous drugs (including crack and powder cocaine and heroin, as well as ketamine), and the list of recorded harms experienced as a result of drug misuse. Conclusions: The article concludes that little attention has been paid outside of the United States to drug use among university students or to interventions designed to prevent it. However, there are signs that government policy in the United Kingdom is beginning to pay attention to the specific problems of drug misuse among university students.

Keywords :

• drug misuse
• students
• prevention
• survey

THE AUTHORS

Professor Trevor Hugh Bennett is director of the Centre for Criminology at the University of South Wales. Prior to this, he was acting director of the Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Wolfson College. Trevor has a long history of conducting research in the field of substance misuse and has secured funds for 37 tendered research projects totaling over £3m as well as assisting others in securing funds for their own research. He has published over 120 articles, book reviews, and book chapters as well as 10 books on various criminological topics. His recent books include The Handbook of Crime (Willan) and Drug–Crime Connections (2007) (Cambridge University Press).

Dr Katy Rose Holloway is a Professor of Criminology at the University of South Wales. Prior to this, she was a researcher at the University of Cambridge where she worked as a data analyst on the New English and Welsh Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Programme. In the period since then, she has continued to work in the field of substance misuse and has conducted 18 externally funded research projects as well as several unfunded projects. Katy has published widely on the topic of substance misuse including two books, more than 20 peer-reviewed journal articles, 15 research reports, four book chapters, as well as more than 25 confidential, unpublished reports for police forces and reports for the UK government. In addition to her research activities, Katy is responsible for coordinating the undergraduate Criminology teaching program at the University of South Wales.