UK universities are being called on to abandon their zero-tolerance stance on drug use and focus on public health and harm reduction, including drug testing and non-judgmental support for students who seek help.
The warning comes after new research found that students are less likely to use drugs than the general population, and among the minority who use drugs, more than two in five say they would like to cut down on their use.
Experts worry that the zero-tolerance stance still in place at some universities, which includes fines, suspensions and expulsions, does little to reduce drug use and may discourage students from seeking help.
Of the 4,000 students who took part in a poll by Universities UK (UUK), the body representing 142 higher education institutions, almost one in five (18%) told researchers they had used drugs in the past, and one in eight (12%) said they had used drugs in the past year.
Among those who have used drugs, the most common drugs used in the past year were cannabis (53%), cocaine (8%), prescription drugs (7%), ketamine (6%) and ecstasy (4%).
According to the UK Office for National Statistics, around 18% of non-students aged 16 to 24 in England and Wales reported using drugs in the year leading up to March 2023, while in Scotland 23.5% of the same age group had used drugs in the year prior to the survey.
According to UUK, only one in five students who had used drugs in the past 12 months sought help from their university. Of those who did seek help, almost half (46%) said their university’s drug policy was a barrier, and more than a third (37%) feared the consequences of reporting them.
According to the coroner, Jenni Larmour, 18, from Newtownhamilton, Northern Ireland, died in October 2020 after consuming a lethal combination of alcohol and ketamine given to her by a “stranger” on her first day at Newcastle University.
His mother, Sandra Larmour, welcomed the report and said her views on drug policy had changed – she previously supported zero tolerance but now supports educating and supporting students – but she said universities should never tolerate drug use.
“If you tell teenagers, ‘Don’t do something,’ you’re going to get away with nothing. Anyone with kids knows, they’re going to go out there and do it,” Larmour said.
“But if they do something in an open and informed way, it must be helpful. If there are people with the insight, knowledge and specialist experience who can give them guidance and they feel they can come forward, then that’s a very positive step.”
Safecourse, a charity set up to promote harm reduction policies on UK university campuses, welcomed UUK’s new framework for action. Founder Hilton Mirvis lost his son Daniel to a drug overdose and said a zero tolerance attitude could have deterred people from seeking help for fear of being expelled.
“Daniel was failed by a zero tolerance policy and drugs have left a hole in my family’s life,” he said, adding that the university now has a “clear harm reduction policy which puts the safety and wellbeing of students first”.
“Yet many universities continue to declare zero tolerance for drugs, when in reality this means taking no action – putting students at risk. It’s time for universities to adopt a proactive, student-led harm reduction approach.”
The UUK report, “Enabling student health and success: tackling drug demand and supply and improving harm reduction”, published on Tuesday, calls on universities to promote drug testing services and inform students. “Students are often unaware of the content and strength of illicit drugs at the point of purchase,” it says.
“The consequences can be fatal. Drug testing is an independent service which encourages students to have a chemist test for any substances of concern and then discuss the results during their consultation with a medical professional.”
It also suggests issuing increasingly severe warnings in the event of repeated incidents within an agreed-upon time frame, to prevent the university being seen as tolerating drug use.
Larmour urged parents with children heading off to college in the fall to have the conversation with their kids: “Be open and honest with your kids.” For young people thinking about leaving home, he said: “Be aware of your surroundings. Be aware of who your friends are. Think carefully before you do anything.”
“I miss Jeni every day. I think about her all the time. Everything I do is for one reason: to keep her name alive, to keep her name on people’s lips, to keep her memory alive.”
