Abstract
Introduction : The trafficking and diversion of illicit substances remain a concern throughout the world given the disastrous consequences of this scourge on social, health and economic life. This work aims to study the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the epidemiological profile of drug seizure and consumption in northern Tunisia. Methods : This is a retrospective study on the illicit products seized by the narcotics brigade from subjects in charge of drug trafficking (associated or not with consumption) during the year 2020, as well as the results toxicological analysis of urine samples recovered from the same suspects. . Immunochemical methods were used to identify the nature of the products seized and consumed, gas phase chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry allows the confirmation of the results. Results: 2239 subjects in charge of circulation and/or consumption were collected with a clear male predominance (95%), the mean age was 29 ± 8.9 years; 91.2% were single and 75.2% were daily workers. The most frequent product (80.3%) and the most consumed (93.63%) was cannabis followed by MDMA 6.3%, benzodiazepines 3.2%, trihexyphenidyl 3%. Polydependence was observed in 2.35% of cases with the cannabis/MDMA association (60%). Urinalysis showed 1446 (64.6%) samples positive for cannabis (60.4%) and MDMA (1.2%). The emergence of the consumption of new synthetic drugs was strongly suspected. Conclusion : The COVID-19 pandemic has considerably modified the data relating to sales, traffic, prices and even drug consumption habits, indeed the recurring confinements and the cessation of maritime and land transport have pushed traffickers to create new distribution network thus favoring the availability of cannabis to the detriment of other drugs
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