TY - JOUR
T1 - Changes in illicit drug use and markets with the COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions
T2 - findings from the Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System, 2016–20
AU - Price, Olivia
AU - Man, Nicola
AU - Bruno, Raimondo
AU - Dietze, Paul
AU - Salom, Caroline
AU - Lenton, Simon
AU - Grigg, Jodie
AU - Gibbs, Daisy
AU - Wilson, Tanya
AU - Degenhardt, Louisa
AU - Chan, Roanna
AU - Thomas, Natalie
AU - Peacock, Amy
N1 - Funding Information:
Drug Trends (including the EDRS) and the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre are funded by the Department of Health, Australian Government under the Drug and Alcohol Program. S.L. was supported by funding from the Department of Health, Australian Government under the Drug and Alcohol Program through its core funding of The National Drug Research Institute at Curtin University. A.P. is supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Investigator Fellowship (no. 1174630). L.D. is supported by a NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellowship (no. 1135991). L.D. is supported by National Institute of Health (NIH) National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) grant (R01DA1104470).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Society for the Study of Addiction
PY - 2022/1
Y1 - 2022/1
N2 - Aims: To describe (i) self-reported changes in drug use and (ii) trends in price, perceived availability, and perceived purity of illicit drugs, among people who regularly use ecstasy/ 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and other illicit stimulants in Australia following COVID-19 and associated restrictions. Design: Annual interviews with cross-sectional sentinel samples conducted face-to-face in 2016–19 and via video conferencing or telephone in 2020. Data were collected via an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire. Setting: Australian capital cities. Participants: Australians aged 16 years or older who used ecstasy/MDMA and other illicit stimulants on a monthly or more frequent basis and resided in a capital city, recruited via social media and word-of-mouth (n ~ 800 each year). Measurements: Key outcome measures were self-reported illicit drug market indicators (price, purity and availability) and, in 2020 only, perceived change in drug use (including alcohol and tobacco) since March 2020 and reasons for this change. Findings: For most drugs, participants reported either no change or a reduction in their use since COVID-19 restrictions were introduced. Ecstasy/MDMA was the drug most frequently cited as reduced in use (n = 552, 70% of those reporting recent use), mainly due to reduced opportunities for socialization. While market indicators were largely stable across most drugs, the odds of perceiving MDMA capsules as ‘high’ in purity decreased compared with 2016–19 [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 0.72, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.53–0.99], as did perceiving them as ‘easy’ to obtain (aOR = 0.42, CI = 0.26–0.67). The odds of perceiving cocaine and methamphetamine crystal as ‘easy’ to obtain also decreased (aOR = 0.67, CI = 0.46–0.96 and aOR = 0.12, CI = 0.04–0.41, respectively). Conclusions: After COVID-19-related restrictions were introduced in Australia, use of ecstasy/MDMA, related stimulants and other licit and illicit drugs mainly appeared to remain stable or decrease, primarily due to impediments to socialization.
AB - Aims: To describe (i) self-reported changes in drug use and (ii) trends in price, perceived availability, and perceived purity of illicit drugs, among people who regularly use ecstasy/ 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and other illicit stimulants in Australia following COVID-19 and associated restrictions. Design: Annual interviews with cross-sectional sentinel samples conducted face-to-face in 2016–19 and via video conferencing or telephone in 2020. Data were collected via an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire. Setting: Australian capital cities. Participants: Australians aged 16 years or older who used ecstasy/MDMA and other illicit stimulants on a monthly or more frequent basis and resided in a capital city, recruited via social media and word-of-mouth (n ~ 800 each year). Measurements: Key outcome measures were self-reported illicit drug market indicators (price, purity and availability) and, in 2020 only, perceived change in drug use (including alcohol and tobacco) since March 2020 and reasons for this change. Findings: For most drugs, participants reported either no change or a reduction in their use since COVID-19 restrictions were introduced. Ecstasy/MDMA was the drug most frequently cited as reduced in use (n = 552, 70% of those reporting recent use), mainly due to reduced opportunities for socialization. While market indicators were largely stable across most drugs, the odds of perceiving MDMA capsules as ‘high’ in purity decreased compared with 2016–19 [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 0.72, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.53–0.99], as did perceiving them as ‘easy’ to obtain (aOR = 0.42, CI = 0.26–0.67). The odds of perceiving cocaine and methamphetamine crystal as ‘easy’ to obtain also decreased (aOR = 0.67, CI = 0.46–0.96 and aOR = 0.12, CI = 0.04–0.41, respectively). Conclusions: After COVID-19-related restrictions were introduced in Australia, use of ecstasy/MDMA, related stimulants and other licit and illicit drugs mainly appeared to remain stable or decrease, primarily due to impediments to socialization.
KW - Big events
KW - COVID-19
KW - drug markets
KW - harms
KW - illicit drug
KW - MDMA
KW - pandemic
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85110078282&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/add.15620
DO - 10.1111/add.15620
M3 - Article
C2 - 34159666
AN - SCOPUS:85110078282
SN - 0965-2140
VL - 117
SP - 182
EP - 194
JO - Addiction
JF - Addiction
IS - 1
ER -