Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

“The Drug Sellerswere Better Organized Than The Government”: A Qualitative Study Of Participants’ Views Of Drug Markets During Covid-19 And Other Big Events, Roberto Abadie

School of Global Integrative Studies: Faculty Publications

“Big events”, such as wars, economic crises, pandemics, or natural disasters, affect the risk environment in which people use drugs. While the impact of big events on injection risk behaviors and access to drug-treatment services is well documented, less is known about the effects of big events on drug markets. Based on self-reporting data on drug availability among people who use drugs (PWUD) in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and during the COVID- 19 lockdown in a Midwestern US state, this study aims to document the effects of big events on drug markets. Qualitative data on the …