Impacts of COVID-19 and associated restrictions on people who use illicit stimulants in Australia: Findings from the Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System 2020

October 2020
Citation: 
Amy Peacock, Olivia Price, Paul Dietze, Raimondo Bruno, Caroline Salom, Simon Lenton, Rosie Swanton, Julia Uporova, Antonia Karlsson, Roanna Chan, Daisy Gibbs, Jodie Grigg, Catherine Daly, Cristal Hall, Tanya Wilson, Louisa Degenhardt & Michael Farrell

The COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions on travel and gathering have likely had major impacts on drug supply, use and harms and there have been significant challenges with delivery of drug treatment and harm reduction services. People who use drugs may also be at increased risk of COVID-19 transmission because of the social nature of drug procurement and use.

There have been urgent calls for evidence regarding the experiences of people who use drugs during the COVID-19 pandemic to inform public health efforts. Recognising the critical need for information, the Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System (EDRS) project has been adapted to collect important data on people’s experiences during COVID-19. As such, this bulletin represents findings from 805 interviews (101 ACT, 100 NT, 103 NSW, 100 QLD, 101 SA, 100 TAS, 100 VIC and 100 WA) undertaken between 25 April and 31 July 2020, as part of the EDRS. 

Read the full bulletin on the NDARC website.