More Weed, Less Pills and Powders: Shifts in Drug Use During the Pandemic

Researchers from New York University have surveyed 128 adults from a population associated with the most frequent substance use—electronic dance music partygoers—to study their drug use patterns during the pandemic.

What they found out was that there was a dramatic decline in the popularity of harder substances while cannabis went from strength to strength, becoming more popular than ever. The findings were published last month in the Substance Use & Misuse journal.

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Less Booze, More Weed: Covid-19 Impacts Partying on Campuses?

From Dropping Acid to Ditching It

The study looked specifically at the period between March and May of 2020 when the first social distancing measures were put in place. The participants were asked how the restrictions impacted their intake of some of the most popular party drugs.

It was hardly a surprise that an overwhelming majority of respondents reported less frequent use of all of them: 78.6 percent less for cocaine, 71.1 – for MDMA (or molly), and 68 – for LSD.

The obvious reason was the closing down of clubs as the new virus quickly spread in New York City and elsewhere. The authors also suggested that travel restrictions had disrupted the supply chain for illicit drugs, making them less available and driving up prices.

Behind Closed Doors

Pot, on the other hand—though it is often consumed in social settings—isn’t exactly a party drug, and its use in the same period went up. Thus, 35 percent of the respondents said they were smoking even more weed as the pandemic unfolded, and for another third, the use remained exactly the same.

One probable reason was that people who were accustomed to regular inebriation were substituting other drugs for cannabis that was still readily available. The researchers also suggested another explanation. Though conclusive evidence is still lacking, cannabis is thought to be effective for treating depression, anxiety, and stress. Being forced to stay at home during the lockdown led to a spike in these conditions both among the general population and, even more so, among party-goers.