Drug use up during pandemic

By Rafi Mauro-Benady

Cannabis dealers say sales are at an all-time high as people turn to the drug to help them cope with the pandemic.

And their anecdotal evidence is backed up by independent research from the Global Drugs Survey, which found that 40 per cent of users are smoking more.

Nearly two thirds of respondents said it was because they have more time to smoke the illegal drug, and 60 per cent increased their consumption of boredom.

But experts at South London’s world famous mental health hospital are concerned that this increased use poses a risk to mental health.

Skunk dealer ‘Aystar’, who runs a west London delivery service, said his sales have gone up five-fold since the pandemic began.

“Because of the lockdown a lot of people haven’t really gone out, or they’re scared to go out, so there’s less competition,” he said.

“If you’ve got it, it’ll fly out (sell quickly).

“Back in January I was selling a kilo a week, but around October it was two-to-three kilos every two days.”

He added that there are “more clients that are middle class/upper class coming than before”.

He also said that the increased demand has caused significant price rises since the beginning of Covid.

He said: “Back in January you could get a kilo for £4,000, now I’m speaking to people they’re telling me £5,600.

“Some people are extorting the situation.”

Another South London dealer, ‘Zach’, who sells weaker traditional herbal cannabis, also reported an increase in sales.

He said: “We’ve sold more, and it’s to the same people buying more, not me getting more customers.

“But it comes and goes because they can’t really afford it.”

Like Aystar and ‘Zach’, South-west London dealer Martin, says he’s seen his profits soar.

He said: “I’m not gonna lie – I’ve made a nice bit of money since the coronavirus all started.

“I’m not gonna talk the figures on here, but all you need to know is compared to times when there’s not been a disease, I’ve made racks.”

He thinks Tier 4 restrictions, announced last month, will boost his business further.

He said: “I can’t lie – I was happy when they announced Tier 4, still.

“I’m due to make some pees (money) during this one.”

But the increased cannabis use has come at a cost, say experts.

Consultant psychiatrist Dr Nial Campbell, a UK-leading addiction expert at The Priory clinic in Roehampton said he’s seen a spike in cannabis-related admissions since lockdown.

He said: “We have seen an increase in cannabis-related admissions during Covid, usually ‘cannabis psychosis’.

“Research from the Maudsley Hospital (in Camberwell), suggests that 25 per cent of paranoid psychosis in the UK is related to marijuana.

“I often meet younger adult patients who are experiencing these paranoid ideas.

“They typically tell me that the paranoid ideas go away when they are not smoking, but come back very quickly when they smoke a joint ‘so what’s the problem?’”

Dr Campbell attacked the myths surrounding cannabis.

He said: “It is a widely perpetuated myth that cannabis is somehow ‘natural’ and harmless.

“This is clearly not the case, particularly with the huge assault to the brain of the modern, stronger, or ‘skunk’, types of cannabis.”

According to Metropolitan police figures, between March and November this year there were 10 per cent more drug-related crimes in the capital, compared to the same period last year.

This year saw 41,889 offences, which rose from the 37,491 last year.

For help with drug addiction, click here.