COVID-19 Pandemic On Drug Markets: Beyond the dynamics triggered during the relatively short period of the current pandemic, potentially long-lasting structural socio-economic changes and the deterioration of social and economic development is likely to have long-term consequences for drug markets and people who use drugs.

New Delhi (ABC Live India): The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released the 2021 World Drug Report today.

According to the released report, around 275 million people used drugs worldwide in the last year, while over 36 million people suffered from drug use disorders.

The UNODC’s Report on the Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis on Drug Markets states on follows;

The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis has taken its toll on public health, the global economy and our way of life. Since the beginning of 2020, the world has experienced an unprecedented public health emergency that has caused a dramatic loss of human life and led many nations to introduce measures to contain the spread of the virus.

These measures have affected almost all aspects of daily life, from freedom of movement to how and where free time is spent and how work is organized. Because drugs are trafficked clandestinely among streams of legal commerce and goods and distributed surreptitiously through the routine activities of citizens, illicit drug markets rely on a functioning licit economy.

The fact that drugs are often used in social settings such as bars and clubs means that their consumption is also dependent to a significant extent on the service industry and opportunities for people who use drugs to do so together.

Therefore, the fundamental changes in the social and economic activities of societies resulting from the restrictions on mobility and social distancing measures introduced by Governments to contain COVID-19 have the potential to affect drug supply, distribution and demand in different ways.

Mobility restrictions and social distancing measures introduced during the pandemic have been heterogeneous across countries in terms of duration, intensity and timing, as have been the effects of those measures on drug markets. Across all regions, disruptions and changes in drug production, distribution and use and in the delivery of services and treatment to people who use drugs have been documented.

Data and qualitative information available to UNODC as of the first quarter of 2021 reveal that different dynamics emerged after the onset of the pandemic, with some drug markets experiencing no change and others quickly recovering after initial disruptions or undergoing opportunistic changes in routes and mode of operandi.

The pandemic has also had a differentiated impact on drug use patterns and the delivery of services, varying by country and After drug type. Overall, drug markets have largely proved to be resilient to COVID-19-related changes. initial disruptions early in the pandemic, organized crime groups quickly adjusted to the changing circumstances, and by early 2021, drug trafficking appeared to be continuing at the same pace as before the COVID-19 pandemic or even at an increased pace.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought new trends in drug trafficking and accelerated some existing ones: increased use of maritime and water routes were observed in many regions, including in countries in Europe, Latin America, North Africa and South-East Asia. These shifts may have been initiated or accelerated by border closures and difficulties in trafficking by land, as well as by the reduction in commercial flights.

After an initial decrease – following the onset of the pandemic – in the trafficking of some drugs, such as cocaine in transit countries close to the Andean region and heroin along with some parts of the Balkan route, trafficking re-emerged, with an increase in the size of intercepted shipments in many regions. During the pandemic in 2020, several record seizures were recorded, for example, several seizures of more than 10 tons of cocaine in Western Europe.

An increase in shipment size was observed in many regions, for example, Europe, Central, South-West Asia and South-East Asia, and West and Central Africa.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to shifts in drug use: overall, MDMA, LSD and cocaine were used less due to the closing of social and recreational venues; increased stress, boredom, more free time and changes in financial resources triggered an increase in the use of cannabis, as well as in the non-medical use of pharmaceutical drugs such as benzodiazepines. For example, a global survey among addiction medicine professionals conducted between April and mid-May 2020 found increased use of pharmaceutical sedatives in 64 per cent of surveyed countries, while cocaine use decreased in 30 per cent of countries.

The pandemic and related lockdowns aggravated the health situation of many people who use drugs: initial disruptions in the provision of services and treatment for people who use drugs were observed in many countries: a global rapid assessment of service delivery for mental, neurological and substance use disorders in the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic found that critical services for the prevention of adverse health consequences of drug users were partially or completely disrupted in 65 per cent of 130 reporting countries, opioid agonist treatment for opioid use disorders was disrupted in 45 per cent of countries, and overdose prevention and management programmes were disrupted in 53 per cent of countries.

In some countries already heavily affected by the opioid crisis, COVID-19 appears to have accelerated the trend of increasing overdose deaths. For example, overdose deaths in North America increased by up to 74 per cent in 2020 over 2019.

However, COVID-19 has brought a number of important innovations to the provision of treatment and services to people who use drugs. In all regions, Member States introduced innovations and adaptations to overcome social distancing measures and to continue drug treatment and services in challenging circumstances. Examples of measures introduced or expanded by the Member States to ensure the continuity of services during the pandemic include telehealth measures such as remote counselling and the delivery of treatment without the need for face-to-face appointments, take-home opioid agonist therapy medication to reduce the requirements of daily visits, and the provision in a contactless way of equipment to reduce the harms of drug use, such as providing sterile drug use equipment by using vending machines or postal services.

These developments have likely been the result of a combination of factors related to drastic changes in people’s lives – for example, reduced mobility, reduced economic activity, more time spent at home and greater unemployment – and the impact of the pandemic on global trade flows and trafficking opportunities.

Beyond the dynamics triggered during the relatively short period of the current pandemic, potentially long-lasting structural socio-economic changes and the deterioration of social and economic development is likely to have long-term consequences for drug markets and people who use drugs.

This is because developments in illicit drug markets are closely linked to these wider social and economic developments. Dynamics that have been exacerbated by the pandemic such as increasing inequality, poverty, adverse mental health conditions and the lack of opportunities for socioeconomic development are factors associated with increased drug use disorders and increased engagement in drug production and trafficking and may lead to higher levels of drug use and production in the near future.

The acceleration of certain drug trafficking trends observed during the pandemic may also prevail and possibly continue at an increased pace. In the past, economic recessions have led to cuts in drug-related budgets and to a reduction in the resources that Governments have allocated to drug policy and programmes, a development that may also follow the COVID-19-related global recession. However, the innovations and adaptations introduced in drug treatment and service delivery during the pandemic provide opportunities to increase accessibility to services in the future.

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