Going to university presents a fresh start and a new level of independence for young people up and down the country.
And a large part of student culture is partying, drinking and clubbing. For some, what begins as social drinking can lead quickly into a spiral of alcohol and drug use - something that is rarely explored when discussing the "uni experience".
One former student, who studied at a Liverpool university and said some drug use has become "normalised" part of student life, shared some of their experiences with cocaine.
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They told the ECHO : "It's literally everywhere, it's more surprising nowadays to hear of someone not doing it than it is to hear of someone doing it. It's horrible though it just sort of sucks you in.
"It starts as a every now and again thing on nights out but then it gets to a point where as soon as you have a drink you end up using. That's what happened with me, it started on freshers week when one of my mates offered me some cocaine, then it ends up spiralling out of control over time."
An investigation from the National Union of Students found that two in five students in the UK use drugs, with cannabis alongside cocaine as the most used illicit drugs. Meanwhile the UK is known as the "cocaine capital of Europe" with the highest number of young cocaine users in the continent, according to The Mirror.
Alongside the more obvious risks of heart attack, stroke or physical addiction, cocaine can pose long term mental damage - particularly to younger minds.
Regular use of cocaine can cause anxiety and paranoia, which can actually be long term. According to drug help service FRANK, the drug can bring previous mental health problems to the surface too, and if a relative has had mental health problems, there might be an increased risk for you.
The financial impact of a cocaine habit can also be devastating, as a former student at a Liverpool university who developed an addiction to the drug explained. They told the ECHO: "It's an expensive, expensive thing, you just keep craving more so you keep going and going, I've spent hundreds of pounds over the course of a day or two and had to resort to loans and help from friends in the past."
For help and advice with drug addiction you can visit the NHS site here.
