COVID-19s Effect on Drug Use



  Happy Friday Delegates! 



This week we would like you to consider COVID-19s effect on drug use to further your research for topic A, the War on Drugs. 


According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, from 2000-2018, drug use increased exponentially greater in developing countries compared to developed countries. Although COVID-19’s effect on illegal drug supply is not certain, rising unemployment and a decrease in opportunities has had serious consequences. Developing countries, and consequently the poorest individuals have been disproportionately affected throughout the pandemic, increasing their vulnerability to drug use, growing and trafficking. 


Moreover, normally drug users are already susceptible to extreme risk, yet accompanied by COVID-19, the unsafety of drug use has skyrocketed. Due to COVID-19 regulations, access to drugs have changed and traffickers must now think of other ways to provide them. Additionally, the pandemic has caused a shortage of highly addictive opioids. Combined, these two shifts in the drug crisis have caused users to look towards more readily available substances. Not only does this include increasingly harmful delivery options and sedatives, but rising vulnerability to unknown, laced, or fatal substances. 


How has this information shaped your thinking regarding the War on Drugs? Let us know in the comments by answering one of the following questions or leaving one of your own! 


  1. How does the availability of pharmaceutical opioids in low and middle income countries compared to high income countries affect the drug crisis? How significant are other factors such as legislation, culture, health systems, and prescribing practices? 


  1. How has COVID-19’s effect on drug supply affected the drug crisis? Have any patterns correlating to the balloon effect emerged as a consequence? 


  1. How will the current economic downturn affect long term practices involving the War on Drugs? Specifically, what will the impact on consumption and trafficking look like? 


Source: https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/06/1066992 


- Jazmine Colon


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