The Impact of Coronavirus on Drug Use in Europe
The Impact of Coronavirus on Drug Use in Europe
15 March 2021: Impact of Coronavirus on Drug Use in Europe
The effect of COVID-19 on the consumption of drugs in Europe has been varied depending on the drug type concerned. Overall, 51.6% of participants in a survey have increased their drug or alcohol consumption and 57.3% reported taking drugs more frequently. The main explanations for these inclines are due to boredom and anxiety, likely due to the imposed restrictions of strict lockdown measures.
According to Statista, Cannabis remains to be the most popular drug used within Europe as 27.2% of respondents revealed that they have used the drug in their lifetime compared to only 5.4% using cocaine. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, regular users of Cannabis have increased their usage, however it is important to note that this has only affected 10% of respondents.
There has been a major hold on the party lifestyle with the shut-down of nightclubs and lack of festival events. As well as, a decrease in the supply of readily available drugs on the market resulting from transport restrictions at country borders. This has impacted the usage of recreational drugs such as cocaine, LSD and MDMA which have seen a decline. The Global Drug Survey revealed that 40% of respondents have used these drugs less during the pandemic.
This detrimental trend has resulted in the domestic production of synthetic opioids. There is a very high risk that substitutes such as fentanyl will become more common. This prediction is concerning due to the dangers associated with such drugs leading to addiction and overdoses. For instance, fentanyl compared to heroin is 50 times stronger.
Public Health England has also released a warning relating to the rise in illegally produced prescription drugs sold as benzodiazepines. These cause harmful health issues due to the mix of unsafe and unknown components.
Randox Toxicology
Randox Toxicology are helping to fight drug trafficking by continually investing in new technologies to aid in the rapid and large-scale screening for drugs of abuse. We are world leaders in drug screening solutions with the capability of detecting over 500 drug and drug metabolites using our innovative Biochip Array Technology – the most comprehensive on the drug testing market. Our patented Biochip Array Technology works across a variety of matrices including whole blood, urine, oral fluid, meconium, vitreous humor and hair.
Using our revolutionary Biochip Array Technology, the Evidence MultiSTAT is a fully automated benchtop analyser that enables onsite, simultaneous testing for up to 21 classical, synthetic or prescription drugs from a single sample in under 20 minutes. This quick and highly reliable technology makes it perfect for use in non-laboratory settings for people with no lab experience.
To find out more about our Biochip Array Technology and our Evidence Series range of analysers, visit www.randoxtoxicology.com or email info@randoxtoxicology.com
For those who’ve beaten addiction in their own lives Rehab 4 Addiction is a free addiction helpline. Click here.
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Record Seizure of Synthetic Drugs in Spain: A Randox Toxicology Blog
05 February 2021: Record Seizure of Synthetic Drugs in Spain
In a record seizure of synthetic drugs for Spain, police have confiscated approximately 827,000 ecstasy tablets, 76kg of speed, 39.5kg of crystal meth and 217 litres of liquid amphetamine at the start of 2021.
Eleven people – from Spain, the Netherlands, Romania, Colombia and Italy – were arrested during a joint investigation by the Guardia Civil and national police forces, according to a statement. The police operation, which lasted nearly a year, resulted in the largest synthetic drugs seizure in Spain, and second-largest ecstasy seizure in Europe over the past 20 years.
The criminal organisation was described as “the most important criminal organisation dedicated to the manufacture and trafficking of synthetic drugs in the history of Spanish drug trafficking”.
Once the large haul was in Spain, the drugs were planned to be processed in two laboratories set up in Barcelona.
“It’s worth noting that of all the substances seized, the 217 litres of liquid amphetamine would – had it been processed in the organisation’s Barcelona laboratories – have produced 738kg of speed, making it the biggest ever amphetamine seizure in Spain,” a statement said.
Randox Toxicology
Randox Toxicology are helping to fight drug trafficking by continually investing in new technologies to aid in the rapid and large-scale screening for drugs of abuse. We are world leaders in drug screening solutions with the capability of detecting over 500 drug and drug metabolites using our innovative Biochip Array Technology – the most comprehensive on the drug testing market. Our patented Biochip Array Technology works across a variety of matrices including whole blood, urine, oral fluid, meconium, vitreous humor and hair.
Using our revolutionary Biochip Array Technology, the Evidence MultiSTAT is a fully automated benchtop analyser that enables onsite, simultaneous testing for up to 21 classical, synthetic or prescription drugs from a single sample in under 20 minutes. This quick and highly reliable technology makes it perfect for use in non-laboratory settings for people with no lab experience.
To find out more about our Biochip Array Technology and our Evidence Series range of analysers, visit www.randoxtoxicology.com or email info@randoxtoxicology.com
For those who’ve beaten addiction in their own lives Rehab 4 Addiction is a free addiction helpline. Click here.
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U.S. Drug Overdose Deaths Resurge to Record During the Pandemic
22 October 2020: U.S. Drug Overdose Deaths Resurge to Record During the Pandemic
Drug overdose deaths in the USA rose to a record high in 2019, after falling for the first time for 25 years in 2018. Almost 72,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2019 according to the preliminary data that was released by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention earlier this year.
Though there is currently no hard data available, there is speculation that the pandemic is complicating and worsening the surge, as 2020 looks to be even more devastating than 2019. Data collected by The New York Times saw for the first half of 2020 drug overdose deaths have risen by an average of 13 percent across America compared to last year. If this trend continues into the rest of the year, it will be the sharpest rise in annual drug deaths since 2016, when fentanyl made its way into US drug trafficking and street supply.
Increased funding toward addiction treatment, prevision and recovery services did shows signs of improving overdose deaths. Though the government has made this positive headway in the last few years in how they tackle the drug epidemic in America, this progress could be threatened by the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier in the month, Brett Giroir, the administration’s assistant secretary for health, said in a statement, “We understand that there is an extraordinary amount of work to do, especially now as we are also dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic that could markedly affect our nation’s mental health and risk of substance use.”
Several public health experts said conditions created by the pandemic could hurt the nation’s fragile progress in fighting the surge of drug deaths but noted that the overdose rate was on its way back up well before the virus arrived. “Covid just makes it a bit worse,” said Dr. Dan Ciccarone, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, who studies the opioid epidemic. “It’s a small wave riding on top of a tsunami that continues to devastate.”
Although official statistics on 2020 overdose deaths won’t be available for a long time, there is local evidence showing drug related deaths are rising into 2020.
Increase in Drug related deaths from 2019 through the first portion of 2020
Though a lot of this data precedes the coronavirus pandemic, researchers believe there are several reasons why the virus could worsen the trend.
When state lockdowns first began in March, Dr. Anna Lembke, a clinician with Stanford’s Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic, noticed many of her patients showing signs of improving. “Many patients described a kind of peacefulness without the constant hubbub of modern life and the constant triggers they’re exposed to,” she said.
However, in response to the virus, the US government has done something unheard-of: it relaxed rules and regulations around prescribing methadone and buprenorphine, two commonly prescribed opioid addiction treatments. Patients no longer needed to attend daily in person appointments to receive their methadone prescriptions and could instead be given 4 weeks’ worth at a time. Doctors no longer need to meet in person to prescribe buprenorphine.
This was initially celebrated as a positive change, however as the pandemic has progressed and people have remained isolated, lockdown has become harmful to people with mental health issues and drug addiction disorders.
“Social isolation has always been a huge component of drug overdose risk,” said Traci Green, an epidemiologist at Brown University who studies drug abuse and addiction. “So much of what we’ve been trying to do has been completely unravelled.”
Experts have pointed to other dangers lockdown poses such as;
- Lack of revival fall back from other users due to an increase in solo drug users
- Less emotional support as in person visits are scaled back
- Inconsistent drug strength and quality
- Supply or income disruption leading to inconsistent drug use habits and accidental overdose
Randox Toxicology
Using our revolutionary Biochip Array Technology, the Evidence MultiSTAT is a fully automated benchtop analyser that enables onsite, simultaneous testing for up to 21 classical, synthetic or prescription drugs from a single sample in under 20 minutes. This quick and highly reliable technology makes it perfect for use in hospitals and medical centres, as pressure increases with the rising number of drug overdose deaths in the US.
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Italian Authorities Seize Over $1B Worth of Amphetamines Originating From Syria
23 September August 2020: Italian Authorities Seize Over $1B Worth of Amphetamines Originating From Syria
Italian police intercepted and seized 14 tons of amphetamines with a street value of approximately $1.15 billion at the Italian port of Salerno in early July. This huge shipment was suspected to have originated from Syria before being transported to the base of a notorious European crime organisation in Naples.
‘Largest seizure of amphetamines in the world’
In video footage the Italian Financial Guard military force posted to their Twitter account, authorities can be seen using electric saws to cut through 6-foot-high cylinders in shipping containers. The Customs Police Col. Domenico Napolitano called the discovery the largest seizure of amphetamines in the world after finding over 85 million pills inside the cylinders.
Syria Identified as One of the Largest Producers of Amphetamines in the World
Syria has become one of the world’s largest producers of amphetamines in recent years, and with production and distribution of such drugs in Europe appearing to have slowed down during the pandemic, the same cannot be said for Syria. As such, authorities are suspecting that crime organisations are placing orders and smuggling drugs from Syria into Europe.
Randox Toxicology
Randox Toxicology are helping to fight drug trafficking by continually investing in new technologies to aid in the rapid and large-scale screening for drugs of abuse. We are world leaders in drug testing solutions with the capability of detecting over 500 drug and drug metabolites using our innovative Biochip Array Technology – the most comprehensive on the drug testing market. Our patented Biochip Array Technology works across a variety of matrices including whole blood, urine and oral fluid.
Using our revolutionary Biochip Array Technology, the Evidence MultiSTAT is a fully automated benchtop analyser that enables onsite, simultaneous testing for up to 21 classical, synthetic or prescription drugs from a single sample in under 20 minutes. This quick and highly reliable technology makes it perfect for use in non-laboratory settings for people with no lab experience.
To find out more about our Biochip Array Technology and our Evidence Series range of analysers, visit www.randoxtoxicology.com or email info@randoxtoxicology.com
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Rise in Lockdown Drug Use Linked to Mental Health Issues
19 August 2020: Rise in Lockdown Drug Use Linked to Mental Health Issues
A new survey has been published reporting on the devastating effects that nationwide and global lockdowns have had on people suffering with mental health issues and substance abuse.
The survey delves into not only what drugs are being taken, but also crucially, why people are resorting to substance abuse during lockdown. Benzodiazepines and cannabis reportedly ‘greatly increased’ or ‘increased’ in use within the first 4 weeks of the pandemic. Approximately one in two people surveyed are taking drugs currently; a sharp increase from one in five people before the pandemic.
Anxiety, loneliness and stress
The majority of respondents (71%) reported that they are still using drugs for fun, however there was also a significant rise in those reporting their reason for drug use as a way to cope with their mental health.
Mental health concerns that came up were; anxiety, loneliness, stress and escaping reality. Previously when this survey was conducted before the pandemic, each of these elements of mental health were reported at around 20%. Now however, they are being reported in approximately 30-50% of respondents.
This is understandable, given the uncertainty of what lies ahead, and the fact that some will also be struggling with unemployment, money, relationships and self-confidence.
Reduced Health Care Options
Unfortunately, many health facilities have been operating at reduced capacity and have been unable to see patients due to the outbreak, meaning that people are indeed turning to drug use instead of professional medical help.
As countries begin to open back up again and resume more normal health care activities, they will almost certainly see a rise in people seeking treatment for drug use.
Using our revolutionary Biochip Array Technology, the Evidence MultiSTAT is a fully automated benchtop analyser that enables onsite, simultaneous testing for up to 21 classical, synthetic or prescription drugs from a single sample in under 20 minutes.
To find out more about our Biochip Array Technology and our Evidence Series range of analysers, please visit randoxtoxicology.com or email info@randoxtoxicology.com
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Chicago’s Rising Fentanyl Problem: A Randox Toxicology Report
Chicago’s Rising Fentanyl Problem: A Randox Toxicology Report
Abuse of opioids, and in particular, fentanyl, has been on the rise in the United States in recent years. The number of patients being prescribed painkillers has almost quadrupled since the 90s from 76 million to 289 million in 2016. It has been described as a uniquely American problem, where pain relief prescriptions are about 40% higher than other developed countries.
Inevitably due to the high addiction rate of opioids, this has unfortunately led to increasing overdose deaths. In 2017 alone over 70,000 people died from drug overdoses in the USA with opioids being involved in 67.8% of cases.
Chicago Illinois is no exception to this crisis. The National Institute of Drug Abuse found that Illinois has a rate of 17.2 deaths per 100,000 people from opioid overdoses, compared to the national average of 14.6. It is not only prescription painkillers that are adding to the opioid addiction crisis in Chicago, but substances such as fentanyl that is illegally sold on the street.
Fentanyl is a cheaper, synthetic opioid which can be 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. It is commonly added to heroin to increase strength and cut costs. Many users believe they are purchasing heroin when in fact it can be mostly fentanyl, resulting in rising overdose deaths. The DEA’s Chicago lab have stated that the drug is making up a more of their workload than ever and becoming a regular drug they see.
Randox Toxicology
Randox Toxicology are world leaders in drug testing solutions with the capability of detecting over 500 drug and drug metabolites using our innovative Biochip Array Technology – the most comprehensive on the drug testing market. Using our revolutionary patented Biochip Array Technology, the Evidence MultiSTAT is a fully automated benchtop analyzer that enables on-site simultaneous detection of up to 21 classical, prescription and synthetic drugs of abuse from a single sample.
Designed to work across a variety of matrices including; whole blood, urine, and oral fluid our patented multi-analyte testing platform provides a complete and highly accurate toxicology profile in 17-20 minutes. Most impressively the MultiSTAT has been designed to be fully operated from sample input to results output by someone with absolutely no laboratory experience and in any environment.
To find out more about our Biochip Array Technology and our Evidence Series range of analysers, visit www.randoxtoxicology.com or email info@randoxtoxicology.com
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Drug Use in Australia: A Randox Toxicology Report
19 March 2020
Drug Use in Australia
Drug Use in Australia: A Randox Toxicology Report
Approximately 43% of all Australians aged 14 years and over have admitted to using an illicit drug on at least one occasion throughout their life.
Additionally, nearly 16% of Australians have confessed to using an illicit drug at least once in the last year.
Cannabis is the most frequent drug used among the Australian people with an estimate of 35% lifetime use. The closest to this is MDMA which has an estimate of around 11% lifetime use.
A reason towards the high cannabis use may be due to the Australian Capital Territory legalizing the recreational possession and cultivation of marijuana in September 2019. This now allows any residents of the capital territory over the age of 18 to possess up to 50 grams of dried marijuana and grow two plants per person or four per household at a time. The supply of the drug to other people however still remains an illegal act.
It is estimated that approximately 60 per cent of those who use illicit drugs are also daily smokers and/or consume alcohol at a level that is considered to be of risk to their everyday health. Another noticeable finding among drug users in Australia is that the majority of methamphetamine, cocaine or ecstasy users are also users of other illicit drugs.
Using our revolutionary Biochip Array Technology, the Evidence MultiSTAT is a fully automated benchtop analyser that enables onsite, simultaneous testing for up to 21 classical, synthetic or prescription drugs from a single sample in under 20 minutes.
To find out more about our Biochip Array Technology and our Evidence Series range of analysers, visit www.randoxtoxicology.com or email info@randoxtoxicology.com
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Illicit drugs costs the USA more than $740 billion annually
18 February 2020
Illicit drugs affecting the US economy
Illicit drugs costs the USA more than $740 billion annually
The abuse of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs is extremely costly to the USA, exacting more than $740 billion annually in costs related to crime, lost work productivity and health care, according to a report by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
A substantial number of 70,237 drug overdose deaths occurred in the United States in 2017. Opioids are currently the main driver of drug overdose deaths. Opioids were involved in some 47,600 overdose deaths in 2017 (67.8% of all drug overdose deaths).
In 2017, the states with the highest rates of death due to drug overdose were West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, and Kentucky. States with statistically significant increases in drug overdose death rates from 2016 to 2017 included Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Randox Toxicology are first to market when it comes to testing for the latest drugs of abuse and new psychoactive substances on the market. Our revolutionary Biochip Array Technology provides state-of-the-art drug detection, utilizing simultaneous drug detection from a single sample across multiple matrices.
To find out more join us at AAFS February 17-22, Anaheim Convention Center, booth #508. Our reps Pankaj, Khushbu and Matt will be there demonstrating our Biochip technology and our Evidence MultiSTAT.
You can also email us at: info@randoxtoxicology.com or visit our website: www.randoxtoxicology.com
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The 2019 World Drug Report from Randox Toxicology
24 January 2020
2019 World Drug Report
In the turn of the new year, Randox Toxicology have compiled a 2019 report of trends in drug abuse throughout the world and what the key figures say about drug use in the world.
Opioids
An easy way of seeing how prevalent opioid use is, is the number of opioid overdose deaths. While surveys show an overall decline in the non-medical use of opioids, opioid related deaths continue to increase. The United States recorded the highest number of opioid overdose deaths at over 28,000. Europe is not as heavily affected by opioid use, an example being Sweden. Sweden has the highest number of opioid overdose deaths in Europe, at 590.
Cocaine
Global seizures rose to 1,275 tons, the largest quantity ever reported. This figure highlights the increase in cocaine trafficking. With an estimated 4.2 million people (1.3 per cent of the population) using cocaine, usage of the drug was highest in Western and Central Europe, which accounted for some 90 per cent of all the cocaine use in Europe as a whole.
In Australia, 2.5 per cent of the population aged 14 and older were estimated to have used cocaine in the previous year. The highest estimated prevalence of cocaine was among young adults aged 20-29 also.
Cocaine use was not popular in both Africa in Asia. For Africa, the use of cocaine was estimated to be between 0.02 per cent and 0.40 per cent of the population, while in Asia the cocaine use was estimated to be between 0.04 and 0.07 per cent.
Methamphetamine
The information available globally on methamphetamine, although limited, indicates that there has been a market expansion. The data available shows that this market has been expanding and that the two largest ‘demand regions’ are South-East Asia and North America.
In terms of methamphetamine that has been seized, North American and South-East Asia, respectively account for 49 per cent and 42 per cent of global quantities seized. Despite the overall expansion of methamphetamine markets worldwide, most of the trafficking continues to be intraregional, for example, trafficking within North America or within South-East Asia.
Our testing solution
Randox Toxicology are first to market when it comes to testing for the latest drugs of abuse and new psychoactive substances in the market. Our revolutionary Biochip Array Technology provides state-of-the-art drug detection, utilizing simultaneous drug detection from a single sample across multiple matrices.
Our ELISA kits provide a comprehensive test menu, covering a broad range of drugs of abuse, stimulants, analgesics and sedatives. Randox Toxicology develop the highest quality 96-well microtitre plates available to the market, with results providing excellent correlation with confirmatory methods.
To find out more email us at: info@randoxtoxicology.com or visit our website: www.randoxtoxicology.com
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The Drug Epidemic in The Seychelles Islands
24 December 2019
The Drug Epidemic in The Seychelles Islands
The Seychelles is suffering from a drug epidemic. Nearly 10% of its 94000 population are addicted to heroin, according to the Agency for the Prevention of Drug Abuse and Rehabilitation (APDAR) in the Seychelles.
Per capita, the Seychelles suffers from the highest rate of heroin abuse in the world. Heroin makes the long journey from Central Asia, especially Afghanistan, before being smuggled to the islands via East Africa. Made up of 115 islands, the Seychelles has many porous borders, which makes them hard to monitor and easy for the drugs to come into the country. Rather than attempting a “war on drugs”, which would criminalise the large proportion of heroin users in the Seychelles, the head of the anti-drug agency has introduced a Portuguese-style drug policy – considering drug addiction as a chronic diseased to be treated.
Heroin users in the Seychelles have two options:
- Join a high threshold Methadone Maintenance Programme (MMP), which includes a period of in-patient treatment where they must commit to detoxification
- Or the low threshold programme, which focuses on harm reduction
Individuals have access to medical and psychosocial support under both programmes.
Patrick Herminie, who had previously attended one of the programmes, has stated “currently, we have over 2000 people registered in one of our programmes and 68% of those are now gainfully employed”. Each morning he visits one of the country’s mobile methadone clinics, white vans that are manned by drug counsellors and qualified nurses to give the correct dose of methadone to recovering addicts. People line up outside the open windows of the van, ready to show their ID. Their name, the date and time are logged into a spreadsheet on receipt of the information and the correct dose of methadone is distributed to them.
Utilising our patented Biochip Array Technology, our DoA ULTRA panel, available for the Evidence Investigator, offers the most comprehensive drugs of abuse screen across multiple forensic matrices. Detecting up to 20 targets drugs including heroin and other opioids, it has the largest cross-reactivity profile of over 240 analytes. Our excellent assay precision and performance eliminates false reporting, offering CVs of typically <10%. Randox Toxicology produce an accurate drug profile to ensure confidence in results.
To find out more about our Biochip Array Technology and our Evidence Series range of analysers, visit www.randoxtoxicology.com or email info@randoxtoxicology.com
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