COVID-19 and the drug situation in Lithuania

Abstract

The application of restrictive public health measures because of COVID-19 has affected all areas of life, including drug use, drug market, and the response of law enforcement and health, education, and social care institutions to the drug phenomenon. In Lithuania students who used psychoactive substances irregularly were more likely to reduce the use of these substances or abstained during quarantine. However, those who used these substances regularly increased the use during quarantine. The provision of harm reduction services was not interrupted, but the package of health services was reduced. There were disruptions in the number of clients entering treatment. Participation in the Early Intervention Programme in Lithuania for young people who are experimenting with alcohol or drugs increased but did not reach the pre-pandemic level. The pandemic also affected workplace-based prevention. The drug market situation remained stable, although the number of the quantities seized indicated some annual variations, caused by changes in supply and demand during the COVID-19 pandemic.