Introduction: Drug use among the young population of developing countries has increased in the last decades; educational and health institutions are concerned about this trend, as it can alter learning and memory, and particularly affects university students. Purpose: To describe and compare the relationship between drug use and academic performance among Health Sciences students at two Latin American universities. Method: Non-probability convenience sampling was used and the Drug Use among University Students Questionnaire (CODEU) was applied online. Data analysis was carried out based on descriptive statistics, and the point biserial correlation coefficient and Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric test were applied, considering the grade average obtained during the last period studied. Results: At the Universidad Veracruzana it was found that the use of alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and inhalable drugs decreases academic performance, while at the Universidad de Boyacá only the use of tranquilizers affected academic performance. Conclusions: It is important to continue conducting similar studies in order to obtain more accurate results and to clarify the relationship between drug use and academic performance. Therefore, it is recommended that variables related to the consequences of drug use be incorporated into indicators such as attendance, homework, and grades.

Considering the future personal health and professional performance of Health Sciences students, it is important to learn about their use of psychoactive drugs. Objective: To determine whether psychosocial risk factors (consumption intention, use of leisure time, anxiety and depression symptoms) are predictors (OR) of the consumption of legal, illegal and medical drugs or non-prescription drugs in the Health Sciences student population.  Method: Quantitative, descriptive, epidemiological, voluntary and anonymous cross-sectional online survey of 5,881 students of the Health Sciences division of a Mexican public university. Results: Psychology students had the highest prevalence of consumption while nursing students had the lowest in all drugs except cocaine, whose prevalence in the last month showed the highest percentage. Most students had a low level of nicotine dependence.  In terms of alcohol and marihuana use, psychology and nutrition students reported the highest percentages in the high-risk consumption category. It was found that psychology students are more likely to consume marihuana than all the other Health Sciences division students. Nutrition students presented a greater possibility of cocaine consumption than psychology students. Conclusions: The predictive factors that were associated with the consumption of tobacco, alcohol, non-prescription drugs, marihuana, and cocaine were: the study program, anxiety, and behavioral intention. The presence of anxiety symptoms was shown as a predictor of the consumption of all drugs, while depression symptoms were associated with the consumption of tobacco, alcohol and non-prescription drugs.