Heroin users are more likely to turn to methadone

These are mainly signals, says Trimbos researcher Daan van der Gouwe, but so far new addicts have been reporting methadone distribution, especially in Amsterdam and South Limburg. As the corona crisis continues and the availability of illegal heroin decreases, he says, addicts from other cities will also find it more difficult to get their drugs and possibly ask for help.

These include Eastern European users, says Van der Gouwe. Because they do not have the correct papers, they are not eligible for treatment with methadone. In the Netherlands, according to addiction care institution Jellinek, 14,000 people use heroin. About seven to eight thousand addicts are given methadone every day, Van der Gouwe estimates.

Keep distance? You can also deliver drugs by drone

Another observation from the memo of the three organizations: “Single use areas” and “reception locations” tolerate dealers on their premises. They hope that addicts roam the streets less and thus prevent infection with Covid-19. According to Sara Woods of Mainline, the staff of a user space in the east of the Netherlands told a dealer: “We are now turning a blind eye, but know that it is temporary.” This is against the law, which prohibits the sale of hard drugs.

It is a “pragmatic and inevitable solution,” says Woods. Van der Gouwe of the Trimbos agrees: “It is understandable that in this crisis situation the edges of legislation are being explored”.

Withdrawal symptoms

In Amsterdam, addicts from Central and Eastern European countries are walking the streets with “serious withdrawal symptoms”, the memo said. It has not yet led to hospital admissions, according to Woods. “It is likely” that users in other cities are also experiencing withdrawal symptoms, according to the memo.

Van der Gouwe and Woods argue that the group of users should be temporarily given methadone ‘under strict conditions’. Woods: “Under these circumstances, we need to help people who are addicted to opiates.” At Jellinek, a project was started last week for a small group of addicts who would not claim methadone under normal circumstances. This will prevent them from becoming “very ill,” Woods says.

Another risk is that addicts switch to other drugs, such as heavy painkillers, such as oxycodone and fentanyl. These painkillers cause an opioid epidemic in the United States, with fifty people killed each day. Heavy painkillers are also causing an increase in overdoses in the Netherlands, according to research from Leiden University. Those pain killers are increasingly available online, in particular, according to Van der Gouwe.