New routes, drug trafficking methods and prohibited substances. The restrictions imposed worldwide by the COVID-19 pandemic have altered not only the global economy but also the world drug market, according to a United Nations study released Thursday in Vienna.

This is one of the key aspects of the latest World Drug Report that shows an increasingly complex situation , with traditional drugs - such as cocaine, heroin or cannabis - at all-time highs and the proliferation of synthetic substances.

"There are more people using drugs, more substances and more types of narcotics than ever," summarizes the situation the new executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Ghada Waly.

"The drug market is becoming increasingly complex. Plant-based substances like cannabis, cocaine and heroin join hundreds of synthetic drugs, many without international control, " the report said.

There is also an increase in the use of pharmaceutical drugs - in some cases counterfeits - for recreational purposes or without medical supervision, something that has caused tens of thousands of deaths in the United States in recent years.

Consumers increase

In 2018, the UN estimates that there were some 269 million drug users in the world, equivalent to 5.4% of the world's adult population. One out of every 19 people on the planet. That figure is 30% higher than in 2009, while more than 35 million people suffer from serious drug addiction disorders.

The report repeats its estimates of 585,000 deaths in 2017 due to drug use and that it already released in last year's report.

The cannabis remains the most popular drug in the world with 192 million consumers, but opioids such as heroin or its analogs, are the deadliest as they are behind two thirds of deaths.

In the past decade, drug use has grown much faster in the developing world than in the industrialized world , due, in part, to the growth of the younger population there, which is more prone to use it.

The UN also points to social differences: while the highest prevalence of consumption occurs in the most favored layers, the most serious problems of drug addiction are registered especially among the poorest . "Data from various countries suggests an association between harmful patterns of drug use and low income," says the UNODC report.

Covid alters the market

Due to restrictions to curb COVID-19, drug traffickers are seeking new routes and methods, and activities through the so-called "dark network" of the Internet and mailings have been able to increase, the report said.

Air routes - important for trafficking in amphetamines and synthetic drugs - and land routes - essential for heroin - have had to be modified due to flight cancellations and the closure of borders.

The increase in cocaine seizures in European ports or the heroin caches seized on ships in the Indian Ocean, as an alternative to the Balkan road route, are indications of these changes.

The slowdown in international trade has also been noted in the shortage of chemical precursors necessary to produce heroin or cocaine, which has been able to reduce its manufacture.

The UN notes that increased border control is leading to less heroin trafficking from Mexico to the US, which has led to a shortage of that opioid. A drop in supply has also been detected in Europe. Another indication of the shortage of supply is the rise in drug prices in different markets.

Movement and meeting restrictions may have led to a momentary drop in consumption , especially of those drugs - such as stimulants - that often appear at music festivals or discos.

Risk patterns

On the negative side, the absence of opioids due to restrictions may have led to the search for a substitute for alcohol, benzodiazepines or synthetic drugs , the UN warns.

It has also been possible to substitute heroin for more harmful substances produced locally, such as fentanyl, a 50 times more powerful synthetic pain reliever.

In this way, it is also feared that more harmful consumption patterns have appeared with injectable substances through syringes, and the consequent risk of transmission of diseases such as HIV / AIDS or Hepatitis-C .

The UN also warns that the current economic crisis will especially affect people who are already the most vulnerable. The increase in unemployment and poverty due to the crisis can lead to an increase in drug consumption, as well as more people considering illicit cultivation or drug trafficking as options for subsistence , the report warns.

"The COVID-19 crisis and economic downturn threaten to further compound the dangers of drugs , when our health and social systems have reached their limits," warns Ghada Waly. For this reason, the UN requests that the response to the 2008 crisis, which consisted of reducing funds for the prevention, assistance and treatment of drug problems, not be repeated.

Finally, the UN criticizes that 90% of opioids for pain treatment and palliative care are used in rich countries that represent only 12% of the world population. The reverse of that figure is that 88% of the remaining population - all in developing countries - uses less than 10% of these pain relievers, such as morphine, to alleviate pain.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • Drugs

StoriesCovid Nostra: how the mafias of the world reinvent themselves to earn money with the coronavirus

Drug traffickingMedical appointments betray the drug dealer Joaquín Irago, one of the most wanted fugitives in Spain

See links of interest

  • News
  • Programming
  • Translator
  • Calendar
  • Horoscope
  • Classification
  • League calendar
  • Films
  • Themes
  • MoraBanc Andorra - Real Madrid
  • Alavés - Osasuna
  • Real Sociedad - Celta de Vigo, live
  • Girona - Numancia
  • Real Madrid - Mallorca, live