Impact of COVID-19 on drug markets, use, harms and drug services in Europe

• Authors: Alessandro Pirona , João Matias , Linda Montanari , Katerina Skarupova , Marica Ferri , Isabelle Giraudon , Jane Mounteney , Sandrine Sleiman , Katarzyna Natoniewska , Bruno Guarita , Liesbeth Vandam , Tim Surmont , Paul Griffiths

Abstracts

EN

Since early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic impact on the way we live, with European countries having to introduce unprecedented measures to protect public health. As with all areas of life, drug consumption, related harms and drug markets have been impacted, as have the drug services established to respond to drug-related problems. Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction instigated three rapid assessment studies to identify the initial impact and implications of COVID-19 on drug markets, use, harms and drug services in the community and in prisons. Findings from these studies revealed that the pandemic and associated health prevention measures implemented by the countries impacted drug markets and use differently depending on the different periods and events throughout the pandemic, but also according to particular drugs or user characteristics. Most drug services remained operational throughout the pandemic in order to assure continuity of care. This was achieved by innovation and adaptation of their services, especially during the different lockdown periods. Thus, the results from these rapid assessments provide a glimpse into new developments in the drugs field across European countries emerging both during and in response to the pandemic, and which could have important implications for the future.

Keywords

EN

COVID-19; drugs; drug markets; drug use; pandemic; drug-related harms; drug treatment; harm reduction; opioid agonist treatment

• Publisher: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego
• Journal: Journal of Geography, Politics and Society
• Year: 2022
• Volume: 12
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 4-7

Dates

published

2022

Contributors

author

Alessandro Pirona

• European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Lisbon, Portugal

author

João Matias

• European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Lisbon, Portugal

author

Linda Montanari

• European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Lisbon, Portugal

author

Katerina Skarupova

• European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Lisbon, Portugal

author

Marica Ferri

• European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Lisbon, Portugal

author

Isabelle Giraudon

• European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Lisbon, Portugal

author

Jane Mounteney

• European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Lisbon, Portugal

author

Sandrine Sleiman

• European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Lisbon, Portugal

author

Katarzyna Natoniewska

• European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Lisbon, Portugal

author

Bruno Guarita

• European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Lisbon, Portugal

author

Liesbeth Vandam

• European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Lisbon, Portugal

author

Tim Surmont

• European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Lisbon, Portugal

author

Paul Griffiths

• European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Lisbon, Portugal

References

• EMCDDA, 2018, Trendspotter manual: a handbook for the rapid assessment of emerging drug- related trends, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg.
• EMCDDA, 2020a, EMCDDA trendspotter briefing: impact of COVID-19 on drug services and help-seeking in Europe, EM - CDDA, Lisbon.
• EMCDDA, 2020b, EMCDDA trendspotter briefing: impact of COVID-19 on patterns of drug use and drug-related harms in Europe, EMCDDA, Lisbon.
• EMCDDA and Europol, 2020, EU drug markets: impact of COVID-19, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg.
• EMCDDA, 2021a, Impact of COVID-19 on drug markets, use, harms and drug services in the community and prisons: results from an EMCDDA trendspotter study, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg.
• EMCDDA, 2021b, European Drug Report 2021: Trends and Developments, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg.

Identifiers

DOI

10.26881/jpgs.2022.1.02

Biblioteka Nauki

2195717