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A Global Survey on Changes in the Supply, Price, and Use of Illicit Drugs and Alcohol, and Related Complications During the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic

Authors :
Ali Farhoudian
Seyed Ramin Radfar
Hossein Mohaddes Ardabili
Parnian Rafei
Mohsen Ebrahimi
Arash Khojasteh Zonoozi
Cornelis A. J. De Jong
Mehrnoosh Vahidi
Masud Yunesian
Christos Kouimtsidis
Shalini Arunogiri
Helena Hansen
Kathleen T. Brady
ISAM Global Survey Consortium (ISAM-GSC)
Adrian Octavian Abagiu
Franck David Noel Abouna
Mohamed Hassan Ahmed
Basma Al-ansari
Feda Mahmmoud Abu Al-khair
Mandhar Humaid Almaqbali
Atul Ambekar
Sidharth Arya
Victor Olufolahan Asebikan
Murad Ali Ayasreh
Debasish Basu
Zoubir Benmebarek
Roshan Bhad
Mario Blaise
Nicolas Bonnet
Jennifer Brasch
Barbara Broers
Anja Busse
Jenna L. Butner
Moses Camilleri
Giovanna Campello
Giuseppe Carra
Ivan Celic
Fatemeh Chalabianloo
Abhishek Chaturvedi
José de Jesús Eduardo Noyola Cherpitel
Kelly J. Clark
Melissa Anne Cyders
Ernesto de Bernardis
Abbas Deilamizade
John Edward Derry
Naveen Kumar Dhagudu
Pavla Dolezalova
Geert Dom
Adrian John Dunlop
Mahmoud Mamdouh Elhabiby
Hussein Elkholy
Nsidibe Francis Essien
Ghandi Ilias Farah
Marica Ferri
Georgios D Floros
Catherine Friedman
Clara Hidalgo Fuderanan
Gilberto Gerra
Abhishek Ghosh
Maka Gogia
Ilias A. Grammatikopoulos
Paolo Grandinetti
Amira Guirguis
David Gutnisky
Paul Steven Haber
Peyman Hassani-Abharian
Zahra Hooshyari
Islam Ibrahim Mokhtar Ibrahim
Hada Fong-ha Ieong
Regina Nova Indradewi
Shelly Iskandar
Thahir Noorul Isra
Shobhit Jain
Sandi James
Seyyed Mohammad hossein Javadi
Keun Ho Joe
Darius Jokubonis
Acka Tushevska Jovanova
Rama Mohamed Kamal
Alexander Ivanov Kantchelov
Preethy Kathiresan
Gary Katzman
Paul Kawale
Audrey Margaret Kern
Felix Henrique Paim Kessler
Sung-Gon Sue Kim
Ann Marie Kimball
Zeljko Kljucevic
Kristiana Siste Kurniasanti
Roneet Lev
Hae Kook Lee
Aiste Lengvenyte
Shaul Lev-ran
Geni Seseja Mabelya
Mohamed Ali El Mahi
J. Maphisa Maphisa
Icro Maremmani
Laura Masferrer
Omid Massah
Orlagh McCambridge
Garrett Gregory McGovern
Aung Kyi Min
Amir Moghanibashi-Mansourieh
Jazman Mora-Rios
Indika Udaya Kumara Mudalige
Diptadhi Mukherjee
Pejic Munira Munira
Bronwyn Myers
Jayakrishnan Menon T. N.
Venkata Lakshmi Narasimha
Nkemakolam Ndionuka
Ali-Akbar Nejatisafa
Kamran Niaz
Asad Tamizuddin Nizami
Jan H. Nuijens
Laura Orsolini
Vantheara Oum
Adegboyega Adekunle Oyemade
Irena Rojnia Palavra
Sagun Ballav Pant
Joselyn Paredes
Eric Peyron
Randall Alberto Quirós
Rouhollah Qurishi
Noor ul Zaman Rafiq
Ranjini Raghavendra Rao
Woraphat Ratta-apha
Karren-Lee Raymond
Jens Reimer
Eduardo Renaldo
Tara Rezapour
James Roy Robertson
Carlos Roncero
Fazle Roub
Elizabeth Jane Rubenstein
Claudia Ines Rupp
Elizabeth Saenz
Mohammad Salehi
Lampros Samartzis
Laura Beatriz Sarubbo
Nusa Segrec
Bigya Shah
Hongxian Shen
Tomohiro Shirasaka
Steve Shoptaw
Fransiskus Muronga Sintango
Veronica Andrea Sosa
Emilis Subata
Norberto Sztycberg
Fatemeh Taghizadeh
Joseph Brian Tay Wee Teck
Christian Tjagvad
Marta Torrens
Judith Meme Twala
Ramyadarshni Vadivel
Joseph Robert Volpicelli
Jelmer Weijs
Steven Michael Wintoniw
Apisak Wittayanookulluk
Marcin Wojnar
Sadia Yasir
Yimenu Yitayih
Min Zhao
Source :
Frontiers in Psychiatry, Vol 12 (2021)
Publication Year :
2021
Publisher :
Frontiers Media S.A., 2021.

Abstract

Background and Aims: COVID-19 has infected more than 77 million people worldwide and impacted the lives of many more, with a particularly devastating impact on vulnerable populations, including people with substance use disorders (SUDs). Quarantines, travel bans, regulatory changes, social distancing, and “lockdown” measures have affected drug and alcohol supply chains and subsequently their availability, price, and use patterns, with possible downstream effects on presentations of SUDs and demand for treatment. Given the lack of multicentric epidemiologic studies, we conducted a rapid global survey within the International Society of Addiction Medicine (ISAM) network in order to understand the status of substance-use patterns during the current pandemic.Design: Cross-sectional survey.Setting: Worldwide.Participants: Starting on April 4, 2020 during a 5-week period, the survey received 185 responses from 77 countries.Measurements: To assess addiction medicine professionals' perceived changes in drug and alcohol supply, price, use pattern, and related complications during the COVID-19 pandemic.Findings: Participants reported (among who answered “decreased” or “increased”) a decrease in drug supply (69.0%) and at the same time an increase in price (95.3%) globally. With respect to changes in use patterns, an increase in alcohol (71.7%), cannabis (63.0%), prescription opioids (70.9%), and sedative/hypnotics (84.6%) use was reported, while the use of amphetamines (59.7%), cocaine (67.5%), and opiates (58.2%) was reported to decrease overall.Conclusions: The global report on changes in the availability, use patterns, and complications of alcohol and drugs during the COVID-19 pandemic should be considered in making new policies and in developing mitigating measures and guidelines during the current pandemic (and probable future ones) in order to minimize risks to people with SUD.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
16640640
Volume :
12
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Frontiers in Psychiatry
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.0adb36838cee4c858c41f06192985476
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.646206