Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Addiction. 2023 Aug;118(8):1557-1568. doi: 10.1111/add.16189. Epub 2023 Apr 2.
Few studies of the impacts of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health measures on drug markets and drug use patterns have used longitudinal data. We aimed to examine whether COVID-19 measures were associated with increases in methamphetamine price, decreases in methamphetamine use frequency and subsequent changes in secondary outcomes of other drug use frequency in metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria.
Longitudinal analysis framework was used from a longitudinal cohort of people who use methamphetamine.
Victoria state, Australia.
One hundred eighty-five VMAX study participants who reported a methamphetamine purchase after the onset of the pandemic were used for the price paid analysis. Methamphetamine or other drug use frequency analysis was performed using 277 participants who used methamphetamine during the pandemic or in the year before the pandemic.
Price paid per gram of methamphetamine derived from the most recent purchase price and most recent purchase quantity. Frequency of methamphetamine and other drug use measured as the average number of days per week used in the last month.
Compared with pre-COVID-19 period, methamphetamine prices increased by AUD351.63 (P value <0.001) and by AUD456.51 (P value <0.001) in Melbourne and regional Victoria, respectively, during the period in which the most intense public health measures were implemented in Victoria. Although prices decreased after harder restrictions were lifted (by AUD232.84, P value <0.001 and AUD263.68, P value <0.001, in Melbourne and regional Victoria, respectively), they remained higher than pre-COVID-19 levels. A complementary 76% decrease was observed in relation to methamphetamine use frequency in regional Victoria (P value = 0.006) that was not offset by any changes in the frequency of use of other drugs such as alcohol, tobacco or other illicit drugs.
COVID-19 public health measures in Victoria state, Australia, appear to have been associated with major price changes in the methamphetamine market and decreased frequency of use of the drug.
很少有研究使用纵向数据来研究 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）公共卫生措施对毒品市场和吸毒模式的影响。我们旨在研究 COVID-19 措施是否与甲基苯丙胺价格上涨、使用频率降低以及随后其他毒品使用频率的次要结果变化有关，研究地点在澳大利亚维多利亚州的大都市墨尔本和地区维多利亚。
从使用甲基苯丙胺的纵向队列中使用纵向分析框架。
澳大利亚维多利亚州。
185 名 VMAX 研究参与者报告在大流行开始后购买了甲基苯丙胺，用于支付分析价格。使用频率分析使用了 277 名在大流行期间或大流行前一年使用甲基苯丙胺的参与者。
从最近的购买价格和最近的购买数量中得出每克甲基苯丙胺的支付价格。使用甲基苯丙胺和其他毒品的频率测量为过去一个月中每周使用的平均天数。
与 COVID-19 前时期相比，在维多利亚州实施最严格公共卫生措施期间，墨尔本和地区维多利亚的甲基苯丙胺价格分别上涨了 351.63 澳元（P 值<0.001）和 456.51 澳元（P 值<0.001）。尽管在放宽更严格的限制后价格有所下降（墨尔本和地区维多利亚分别下降 232.84 澳元和 263.68 澳元，P 值均<0.001），但仍高于 COVID-19 前水平。在地区维多利亚，与甲基苯丙胺使用频率相关的互补性 76%的下降（P 值=0.006）并没有被酒精、烟草或其他非法药物等其他药物使用频率的任何变化所抵消。
澳大利亚维多利亚州的 COVID-19 公共卫生措施似乎与甲基苯丙胺市场的重大价格变化和药物使用频率降低有关。
