Consequences of COVID-19 lockdown on New Psychoactive Substances market and abuse

Introduction

Since the first outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2) in China in December 2019, the infection has rapidly spread all over the world. This new virus has caused many cases of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a potentially fatal respiratory syndrome (1). Due to its global diffusion, the World Health Organization rapidly issued an international warning and declared a worldwide pandemic in March 2020. Currently, most countries are experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks with new infections and fatalities every day and all over the world (2). Due to the mode of transmission of the virus via droplets or direct contact, governments were compelled to adopt restrictive strategies to contain the pandemic and preserve the public health (2, 3). These interventions include limited international mobility, temporary closure of non-essential businesses and more stringent measures like social distancing or complete isolation for prolonged periods. Therefore, this unprecedented crisis has seriously impacted the global economy and people’s daily life.