Uruguay sees resurgence in synthetic drug use

The perception of the risk of COVID-19 has decreased in Uruguay at the same rate as the consumption of synthetic drugs has grown, accompanied by the return of parties, a fact that forced the government to issue security alerts, said the secretary of the National Drug Board (JND), Daniel Radío, in an interview with Sputnik.

“Now synthetic substances have reappeared, and we had to issue an alert due to the appearance of pink cocaine that is not such, a 2C-B that is not such, because they are synthetic drugs with random, variable contents, and that increased the risk a lot.

We always advise these substances against their use, but in this case, the risk was also greater,” the official said in an exclusive interview with this agency.

The name “synthetic drugs” refers to a broad group of chemically produced substances containing different amphetamine derivatives and other components and are presented in pills, powders, liquids, or capsules.

The best known are ecstasy, ketamine, “angel dust,” or GHB; many were discovered decades ago by pharmaceutical companies that discontinued their research due to the undesirable effects detected.

Last August 16, the JND issued an alert for the presence in the region of pink cocaine or 2C-B, a psychedelic phenylethylamine whose prototypical psychedelic drug is mescaline synthesized for the first time in 1974 and used then in the area of psychiatry.

“This laboratory, through the analysis of different seized samples, has detected the presence of substances such as ketamine, MDMA, cocaine, caffeine and in some cases also the opioid tramadol,” dictates the alert about this drug whose presence in Uruguay was first reported in 2020.

However, the pandemic itself cut the transit of the drug, which usually occurs in the context of parties.

During the pandemic, synthetic drugs were practically not used in Uruguay because they are used during the celebration of parties, Radío explains.

“In general terms, we can say that regular users increased their consumption and sporadic users decreased, and that is because the latter are social and because there was less human interaction. There was an increase in alcohol, mainly wine,” said Radío.

As in the rest of the region, what was recorded was an increase in the use of anxiolytics.

EDUCATION AND PREVENTION

For the secretary general of the JND, there are two extremes: “we must not make apologies, and we must respect the right of people to use substances”.

“So, the first great principle is that people know that all consumption has risks,” he warns.

“We are in this logic of having careful events, careful consumption, we do not make an apology, but we are respectful of people’s choices, and we understand that they are free to the same extent that they are informed.”

Currently, Uruguay has two major problems with substance use, one quantitative and that is alcohol, and one qualitative, the users of cocaine base paste, a residue of cocaine, he says.

However, what happens with alcohol use is that 85% of the people who use alcohol have no apparent problems.

“You see the problem, and it occurs to you that the best way is to prohibit alcohol fortunately no longer, but in other times it occurred to them to do so.

“As if, because there are some people who have celiac disease, we would ban flour for everyone, but most people who use it have no problems,” he says.

Consequently, Uruguay’s policy addresses problematic consumption, which in most cases has nothing to do with the substance itself.

“We do not put the center of gravity on the substance but on the notion of bonding, how I relate to the substance, as with other things.

“Because, in reality, there are toxic or pathological relationships with substances like gambling, work, internet, technology, telephone, or other people. And that is at the basis of undesired behaviors,” he explains.

The question then arises as to how prevention is done, whether the option chosen is not to attack access to the substance or to do so in a way that is not punitive for the user.

“Nonspecific prevention is, for example, for cardiovascular pathologies, where there is no vaccine. So, I have to lead a healthy life, eat without salt, walk, and do sports.

“It is even more unspecific for substance use, and instead of being prevention, it becomes promotion of healthy life habits, of life skills, of contexts or environments that do not promote consumption and, at the end of the road, promotion of resilient life trajectories, people who, when they want to say no, can do it, who are standing with both feet on the ground”, says Radío.

He points out that this is only possible with an interdisciplinary approach, in roles that the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Social Development, and the Ministry of the Interior have to play, in addition to the office he directs.

With information from Sputnik