Universität zu Köln

Scherbaum, Norbert, Bonnet, Udo, Hafermann, Henning, Schifano, Fabrizio, Bender, Stefan, Grigoleit, Torsten, Kuhn, Jens, Nyhuis, Peter, Preuss, Ulrich W., Reymann, Gerhard, Schneider, Udo, Shibata, Jo and Specka, Michael (2021). Availability of Illegal Drugs During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Western Germany. Front. Psychiatry, 12. LAUSANNE: FRONTIERS MEDIA SA. ISSN 1664-0640

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

Background: In response to the COVID-19-pandemic, a lockdown was established in the middle of March 2020 by the German Federal Government resulting in drastic reduction of private and professional traveling in and out of Germany with a reduction of social contacts in public areas. Research Questions: We seek evidence on whether the lockdown has led to a reduced availability of illegal drugs and whether subjects with substance-related problems tried to cope with possible drug availability issues by increasingly obtaining drugs via the internet, replacing their preferred illegal drug with novel psychoactive substances, including new synthetic opioids (NSO), and/or by seeking drug treatment. Methods: A questionnaire was anonymously filled in by subjects with substance-related disorders, typically attending low-threshold settings, drug consumption facilities, and inpatient detoxification wards from a range of locations in the Western part of Germany. Participants had to both identify their main drug of abuse and to answer questions regarding its availability, price, quality, and routes of acquisition. Results: Data were obtained from 362 participants. The most frequent main substances of abuse were cannabis (n = 109), heroin (n = 103), and cocaine (n = 75). A minority of participants reported decreased availability (8.4%), increased price (14.4%), or decreased quality (28.3%) of their main drug. About 81% reported no change in their drug consumption due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown. A shift to the use of novel psychoactive substances including NSO were reported only by single subjects. Only 1-2% of the participants obtained their main drug via the web. Discussion: Present findings may suggest that recent pandemic-related imposed restrictions may have not been able to substantially influence either acquisition or consumption of drugs within the context of polydrug users (including opiates) attending a range of addiction services in Germany.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Scherbaum, Norbert UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Bonnet, Udo UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Hafermann, Henning UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Schifano, Fabrizio UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Bender, Stefan UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Grigoleit, Torsten UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Kuhn, Jens UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Nyhuis, Peter UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Preuss, Ulrich W. UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Reymann, Gerhard UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Schneider, Udo UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Shibata, Jo UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Specka, Michael UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-598319
DOI:	10.3389/fpsyt.2021.648273
Journal or Publication Title:	Front. Psychiatry
Volume:	12
Date:	2021
Publisher:	FRONTIERS MEDIA SA
Place of Publication:	LAUSANNE
ISSN:	1664-0640
Language:	English
Faculty:	Unspecified
Divisions:	Unspecified
Subjects:	no entry
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES NPS Multiple languages Psychiatry Multiple languages
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/59831