The first results have been released from the Global Drug Survey Special Edition On Covid-19, for which Hot Press is the official print partner. The confidential online survey is running until June 20 at https://www.globaldrugsurvey.com and takes roughly fifteen minutes to complete.

In its summary, the GDS team note that: "Covid-19's impact on the ability for drug cartels and dealing networks to import and distribute their products has been huge. From reduced air and sea freight and in some cases reduced access to precursors, it was always likely that after local reserves were depleted, changes in availability were likely to reduce access and impact on price and availability. While in some regions this has been the case, the true impacts of the reduction in supply have been buffered by possibly a parallel reduction in demand. For drugs where local production is available such as cannabis, use has increased, while for stimulant drugs such as cocaine and MDMA, the reduction in social gatherings has been protective. ........