About two in five students are drug users, says a study from the National Union of Students.
But the students' union argues that students should not be disciplined for "drug-related behaviour that does not constitute a criminal offence".
The most widely used drugs, in a survey of 2,800 students, were cannabis, ecstasy, nitrous oxide and cocaine.
A formal warning was the most common disciplinary action taken by universities over drug use.
The NUS report found drug use to be "a common, although infrequent, behaviour" - with 39% of students using drugs, and cannabis by far the most widely used.
A further 17% had used drugs before, meaning 56% in total had at some time tried them.
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