Ali Lilly

Health 1050
Professor Cham
December 8, 2021

Research Paper

The Covid-19 pandemic proved to be a hard time for millions of people. Millions of

people were affected by the loss of a loved one and some were affected by the isolation that the

lockdown brought into their life. The pandemic also brought problems into the world of illegal

drugs. The first thought a person might have when it comes to this topic is probably that the

distribution of illegal drugs around the world would decrease during the pandemic. The truth

behind this thought is very surprising because the pandemic didn’t slow anything down in the

world of illegal drugs, in fact thing started to speed up.

If people were locked inside for a few months how could the illegal drug business pick up

so much business? The answer is very simple, how could it not. With everyone locked inside

with very little to do and mental health statuses on a rapid decline of course people turned to

drug use. In an academic journal written by Norbert Scherbaum, Udo Bonnet, Henning

Hafermann, they write about the statistics of rising drug use in Germany during the height of the

pandemic. They wrote “Given these restrictions within public and private life, one could argue

whether the availability of illegal drugs was reduced in parallel with the COVID-19 pandemic.

For example, cocaine and heroin available in Germany typically arrive from South America and

Afghanistan, respectively…  Moreover, it was expected that a higher number of drug addicts

would claim access to therapeutic care and/or that they would increasingly utilize online sources

of illicit drug delivery in order to compensate for decreased availability of illegal drugs on the

street market… Within the context of online drug acquisition, a shift to novel psychotropic drugs

such as synthetic cannabinoids as a substitute for cannabis, cathinones as a substitute for cocaine
Ali Lilly
Health 1050
Professor Cham
December 8, 2021

or amphetamines, and new synthetic opioids such as fentanyl analogues as substitutes for heroin

could also be anticipated as a possibility.” (Scherbaum, Bennet, Hafermann, etc. 2021) The

article goes on to explain that the rise of drug use and distribution was not only a problem in

Germany, but findings conclude that this was happening in most of Europe. Not only was this

happening in most of Europe it was also happening in North America as well.

In a forty-five-page research brief written and published by the UNODC or the United

Nations Office on Drugs and crime we read about everything related to illegal drugs during the

Covid-19 pandemic. Everything from production to distribution to consumption and where,

when, and how it all happened. The brief has research on every illegal drug and how the

pandemic affected the production, distribution, and consumption. “There are indications that the

reduction in air traffic to Europe resulting from the COVID-19 measures may already have led to

an increase in direct cocaine shipments by sea cargo from South America to Europe. Similarly,

reports from Colombia indicate an increase in maritime drug trafficking and a decrease in

cocaine trafficking by land. Relatively recent large seizures of cocaine made in European ports

demonstrate that the trafficking of large shipments of cocaine is still ongoing.” (Me, Zeller,

Garcia Yi 2021) Cocaine and opium had a huge supply and demand during the pandemic, but so

did cannabis. Now cannabis is legal in some parts of the world, but it isn’t legal in every part of

the world. “Continued large-scale seizures of cannabis products in the Middle East and North

Africa suggest that cannabis resin trafficking to Europe is not being disrupted by the restrictions

related to the COVID-19 pandemic. There are indications that the lockdown measures in Europe

may lead to an increase in demand for cannabis products, which could intensify drug trafficking
Ali Lilly
Health 1050
Professor Cham
December 8, 2021

activities from North Africa to Europe in the future.” (Me, Zeller, Garcia Yi 2021) There is

enough evidence from the research done in the in brief to suggest that during the pandemic lock

down drug trafficking didn’t come to an end and it increased. Now because of certain restrictions

a lot of drug trafficking shipments were caught by officials, but that only caused drug cartels to

get craftier with how they distributed their drugs around the world.

Illegal drugs essentially are a business, and they have an economy of their own. The

pandemic negatively affected economies around the world which means that the economy of

illegal drugs took a hit as well. Even though the economy of illegal drugs took a hit doesn’t mean

that there wasn’t a supply and demand for drugs. Drug consumption went up considerably during

the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. “The COVID-19 crisis is like no other. As a result of the

pandemic, the global economy is projected to contract by 3 per cent in 2020, far more than

during the financial crisis of 2008–09. 19 The COVID-19 crisis is hitting economies across the

world almost simultaneously through both the trade and financial channels…The economic

contraction will probably have the greatest effect on developing economies, with the poorest

members of society in those countries being those most affected. In relation to drug markets and

based on the experience of the financial crisis of 2008/2009, it is fair to assume that the

economic downturn may lead both to a lasting transformation of the illicit drug markets and the

potential aggravation of illicit drug economies worldwide.” (Me, Zeller, Garcia Yi 2021) Due to

the Covid-19 pandemic that the markets for illegal drugs have changed and become more

aggressive. The supply and demand being so great that the general economy of the illicit drug

market to change, adapt, and even evolve to fit the new needs of buyers and drug dealers.
Ali Lilly
Health 1050
Professor Cham
December 8, 2021

The Covid-19 pandemic not only changed the supply and demand chain for drugs but

changed how people bought them. The buying space changes from street corners to digital world.

In an article written by Caterina Demony which was published in 2021 she writes “Like

supermarkets, restaurants and purveyors of sourdough bread, the illegal drugs trade went digital

to serve its customers during lockdown and could stay that way when the COVID-19 pandemic

is over, Europe’s drugs agency said on Wednesday. “The pandemic is pushing drug criminals

online, reinforcing a trend," said the European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson

during the online launch of the 2021 drugs report put together by the Lisbon-based agency

EMCDDA. "Drug dealers are moving from the streets onto social media, taking orders via

encrypted messaging services, sending drugs to customers via home delivering services." The

pandemic has forced changes to every level of the drugs trade, from wholesale traffickers and

smugglers to neighborhood dealers.” (Demony 2021) The interesting thing to notice from this is

that the Covid-19 Pandemic forced so many businesses to figure out a new way to make money

and generate business that the drug market had to follow the same trend. The market of drugs

had to adapt to survive. The article continues to go on to say “With international travel disrupted

and borders shut, smugglers have been relying more on shipping containers and less on human

couriers, the report said. The trade proved resilient, with data showing no decline in the amount

of cocaine available, while more people were growing cannabis at home. “The drug market

continues to adjust to COVID-19 disruption, as drug traffickers adapt to travel restrictions and

border closures," …Alexis Goosdeel, EMCDDA's director, said there would be new risks from

what the report called "the further digitalization of drug markets". The shift to online transactions
Ali Lilly
Health 1050
Professor Cham
December 8, 2021

made it easier for drug dealers to recruit young people, and to make the push out of big cities into

rural areas… “We are just in front of a perfect storm,” Goosdeel said. “The drug market is more

resilient than ever and is digitally-enabled.” (Demony 2021)

To conclude everything that has been stated here the Covid-19 pandemic do not cause the

illegal drug market to come to a halt like many people thought that it might. Instead, the Covid-

19 pandemic forced the illegal drug market to adapt and evolve to meets its needs for their

supply and demands. Drug production continued to go up, due to the lack of jobs, and drug

distribution continued to rage on. Although the minds behind drug distribution needed to become

more creative and craftier, illegal drugs still made their way around the world. Drug

consumption also went up in numbers because in a world where mental health is on a decline and

drug addicts rely in drugs to keep them “well” consumption rate skyrocketed. Finally, the

pandemic forced to illegal drug market to take on the digital space. From school to businesses

and even religious gatherings people learned to move into the digital world. This could be said

for the buying and selling of illegal drugs. There wasn’t a need any more to walk down a couple

blocks or to the street corner to get your fix. The Covid-19 pandemic changed the world of drugs

for the long foreseeable future, and much to many people’s dismay the pandemic may have given

the illegal drug market a boost up in this world.

Ali Lilly
Health 1050
Professor Cham
December 8, 2021

Work Cited

Scherbaum, N., Bonnet, U., Hafermann, H., Schifano, F., Bender, S., Grigoleit, T., Kuhn, J.,
Nyhuis, P., Preuss, U. W., Reymann, G., Schneider, U., Shibata, J., & Specka, M. (2021).
Availability of illegal drugs during the COVID-19 pandemic in Western Germany.
Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.648273

Me, A., Zeller, I., & Garcia Yi, J. (2021). COVID-19 and the drug supply chain: from production
and trafficking to use.

Demony, C. (2021, June 9). Illegal drugs trade goes digital for pandemic. Reuters. Retrieved
December 8, 2021, from https://www.reuters.com/world/illegal-drugs-trade-goes-digital-
pandemic-2021-06-09/.
Ali Lilly
Health 1050
Professor Cham
December 8, 2021