{"id":47043,"date":"2020-03-31T10:57:29","date_gmt":"2020-03-31T09:57:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/?p=47043"},"modified":"2020-04-03T18:14:27","modified_gmt":"2020-04-03T17:14:27","slug":"ian-hamilton-covid-19-mean-illegal-drug-market-people-dependent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2020\/03\/31\/ian-hamilton-covid-19-mean-illegal-drug-market-people-dependent\/","title":{"rendered":"Ian Hamilton: What will covid-19 mean for the illegal drug market and people dependent upon it?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"standfirst\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This pandemic has the potential to amplify the risks and harms of using illicit drugs, argues Ian Hamilton<\/span><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2018\/07\/IAN_HAMILTON_2018.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-42580\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2018\/07\/IAN_HAMILTON_2018.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"183\" height=\"170\" \/><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">While we have good intelligence about the impact that covid-19 is having on the economy, there is a multibillion pound industry that we know less about, but whose disruption will have far reaching consequences\u2014the illicit drug market. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The size of this industry is significant; there are 1.5 million <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/statistics\/drug-misuse-findings-from-the-2018-to-2019-csew\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">regular<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> recreational users in England and Wales, and the Home Office <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-43657647\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">estimate<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">s<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that the trade in illicit drugs is worth \u00a35.3bn annually. The impact on its trade and those who rely on it is already being felt. Closing borders and restricting people\u2019s movements directly disrupts the supply and distribution of illicit prescription drugs, as well as drugs like cocaine or cannabis.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As with the legal economy, those who rely on this illicit market won\u2019t behave rationally. For example, some people with drug dependency problems might try to stockpile their drug of choice. Apart from adding to shortages of the drug, this creates several risks, such as using more of a substance than you planned to over a period of time, or worse, using too much in one go and overdosing. The UK\u2019s number of drug related overdoses continues to hit <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2019\/11\/04\/niamh-eastwood-drug-related-deaths-playing-politics-while-people-die\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">record highs every year<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, and this crisis has all the makings of amplifying that. Dealers faced with shortages of heroin could well substitute this with the more potent opiate <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmj.com\/content\/361\/bmj.k1564\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">fentanyl<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. For those who are unaware or don\u2019t know how to titrate a drug estimated to be <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC6007807\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">50 times stronger<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, that could prove to be fatal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Some people will seek out alternatives when their drug of choice becomes harder to source. This raises the risk of harm due to unfamiliarity and their inexperience with ensuring a safe dose is taken. None of this is helped by the fact the market is completely <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2018\/09\/24\/doctors-support-regulated-markets-illicit-drugs\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">unregulated<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> despite the obvious potential risks that millions of people face in engaging with it. Public Health England is already asking for information about illegal drug shortages and how people are responding*\u2014for example, by substituting.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As with coronavirus, we have options to mitigate the fallout from this: we could provide drug <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmj.com\/content\/365\/bmj.l1784\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">testing<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> as already happens at some music festivals. This way people would know what is in their drug and, crucially, how strong it is. Equally, now seems an opportune moment to introduce <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmj.com\/content\/366\/bmj.l4906\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">safer injecting facilities<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> so that people have safe and clean environments where they can consume drugs. This could also help to save lives as anyone accidentally overdosing could be immediately revived.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Stubborn political ideology makes this type of pragmatic response unlikely. While the government values experts\u2019 contributions to our understanding of coronavirus, it rejects other experts\u2019 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-41596222\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">recommendation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to introduce drug consumption rooms. This is despite the part that testing and drug consumption rooms could play in protecting the wider population.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">During these times of isolation, boredom, and anxiety, there is a real risk that occasional recreational users or first time users will be attracted to self-medicate with illegal drugs. Providing them, as well as more seasoned users, with reliable, clear <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmj.com\/content\/bmj\/367\/bmj.l6748.full.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">information<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is essential if we are serious about reducing contagion. Ensuring sterile equipment is available, that the surfaces used to put drugs on are clean, and that new straws rather than banknotes are used to snort drugs are just some of the examples of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crew.scot\/coronavirus-general-hygiene-tips\/\">harm reduction messages<\/a> that could be transmitted.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Denial and delay have already proved to be costly strategies, yet this looks like the approach of our political leaders to the millions of people using illegal drugs. The best we can hope for is a political epiphany but, unfortunately, those are rare.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">*Communication via email.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Ian <span class=\"il\">Hamilton<\/span><\/strong> is an academic at the University of York with an interest in addiction and mental health. He previously worked as a mental health nurse with people who had combined mental health and substance use problems. <\/em>Twitter: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ian_hamilton_\"><span class=\"css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0\">@ian_hamilton_<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Competing interests:<\/strong>\u00a0I am affiliated with Alcohol Research UK.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This pandemic has the potential to amplify the risks and harms of using illicit drugs, argues Ian Hamilton [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2020\/03\/31\/ian-hamilton-covid-19-mean-illegal-drug-market-people-dependent\/\">More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45993,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[223],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guest-bloggers"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ian Hamilton: What will covid-19 mean for the illegal drug market and people dependent upon it? - The BMJ<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2020\/03\/31\/ian-hamilton-covid-19-mean-illegal-drug-market-people-dependent\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ian Hamilton: What will covid-19 mean for the illegal drug market and people dependent upon it? - The BMJ\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This pandemic has the potential to amplify the risks and harms of using illicit drugs, argues Ian Hamilton [...]More...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2020\/03\/31\/ian-hamilton-covid-19-mean-illegal-drug-market-people-dependent\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The BMJ\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bmjdotcom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-03-31T09:57:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-04-03T17:14:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2019\/11\/safe_drug_consumption_room.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"540\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"350\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"BMJ\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@bmj_latest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@bmj_latest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"BMJ\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/31\\\/ian-hamilton-covid-19-mean-illegal-drug-market-people-dependent\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/31\\\/ian-hamilton-covid-19-mean-illegal-drug-market-people-dependent\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"BMJ\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ba3da426ed20e8f1d933ca367d8216fe\"},\"headline\":\"Ian Hamilton: What will covid-19 mean for the illegal drug market and people dependent upon it?\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-03-31T09:57:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-04-03T17:14:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/31\\\/ian-hamilton-covid-19-mean-illegal-drug-market-people-dependent\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":677,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/31\\\/ian-hamilton-covid-19-mean-illegal-drug-market-people-dependent\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/safe_drug_consumption_room.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Guest writers\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/31\\\/ian-hamilton-covid-19-mean-illegal-drug-market-people-dependent\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/31\\\/ian-hamilton-covid-19-mean-illegal-drug-market-people-dependent\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/31\\\/ian-hamilton-covid-19-mean-illegal-drug-market-people-dependent\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ian Hamilton: What will covid-19 mean for the illegal drug market and people dependent upon it? - The BMJ\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/31\\\/ian-hamilton-covid-19-mean-illegal-drug-market-people-dependent\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/31\\\/ian-hamilton-covid-19-mean-illegal-drug-market-people-dependent\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/safe_drug_consumption_room.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-03-31T09:57:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-04-03T17:14:27+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/31\\\/ian-hamilton-covid-19-mean-illegal-drug-market-people-dependent\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/31\\\/ian-hamilton-covid-19-mean-illegal-drug-market-people-dependent\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/31\\\/ian-hamilton-covid-19-mean-illegal-drug-market-people-dependent\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/safe_drug_consumption_room.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/safe_drug_consumption_room.png\",\"width\":540,\"height\":350},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/31\\\/ian-hamilton-covid-19-mean-illegal-drug-market-people-dependent\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ian Hamilton: What will covid-19 mean for the illegal drug market and people dependent upon it?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/\",\"name\":\"The BMJ\",\"description\":\"Helping doctors make better decisions.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The BMJ\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2018\\\/05\\\/The-BMJ-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2018\\\/05\\\/The-BMJ-logo.jpg\",\"width\":852,\"height\":568,\"caption\":\"The BMJ\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/bmjdotcom\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/bmj_latest\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ba3da426ed20e8f1d933ca367d8216fe\",\"name\":\"BMJ\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"BMJ\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ian Hamilton: What will covid-19 mean for the illegal drug market and people dependent upon it? - The BMJ","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2020\/03\/31\/ian-hamilton-covid-19-mean-illegal-drug-market-people-dependent\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ian Hamilton: What will covid-19 mean for the illegal drug market and people dependent upon it? - The BMJ","og_description":"This pandemic has the potential to amplify the risks and harms of using illicit drugs, argues Ian Hamilton [...]More...","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2020\/03\/31\/ian-hamilton-covid-19-mean-illegal-drug-market-people-dependent\/","og_site_name":"The BMJ","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bmjdotcom\/","article_published_time":"2020-03-31T09:57:29+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-04-03T17:14:27+00:00","og_image":[{"width":540,"height":350,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2019\/11\/safe_drug_consumption_room.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"BMJ","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@bmj_latest","twitter_site":"@bmj_latest","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"BMJ","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2020\/03\/31\/ian-hamilton-covid-19-mean-illegal-drug-market-people-dependent\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2020\/03\/31\/ian-hamilton-covid-19-mean-illegal-drug-market-people-dependent\/"},"author":{"name":"BMJ","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#\/schema\/person\/ba3da426ed20e8f1d933ca367d8216fe"},"headline":"Ian Hamilton: What will covid-19 mean for the illegal drug market and people dependent upon it?","datePublished":"2020-03-31T09:57:29+00:00","dateModified":"2020-04-03T17:14:27+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2020\/03\/31\/ian-hamilton-covid-19-mean-illegal-drug-market-people-dependent\/"},"wordCount":677,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2020\/03\/31\/ian-hamilton-covid-19-mean-illegal-drug-market-people-dependent\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2019\/11\/safe_drug_consumption_room.png","articleSection":["Guest writers"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2020\/03\/31\/ian-hamilton-covid-19-mean-illegal-drug-market-people-dependent\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2020\/03\/31\/ian-hamilton-covid-19-mean-illegal-drug-market-people-dependent\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2020\/03\/31\/ian-hamilton-covid-19-mean-illegal-drug-market-people-dependent\/","name":"Ian Hamilton: What will covid-19 mean for the illegal drug market and people dependent upon it? - The BMJ","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2020\/03\/31\/ian-hamilton-covid-19-mean-illegal-drug-market-people-dependent\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2020\/03\/31\/ian-hamilton-covid-19-mean-illegal-drug-market-people-dependent\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2019\/11\/safe_drug_consumption_room.png","datePublished":"2020-03-31T09:57:29+00:00","dateModified":"2020-04-03T17:14:27+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2020\/03\/31\/ian-hamilton-covid-19-mean-illegal-drug-market-people-dependent\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2020\/03\/31\/ian-hamilton-covid-19-mean-illegal-drug-market-people-dependent\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2020\/03\/31\/ian-hamilton-covid-19-mean-illegal-drug-market-people-dependent\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2019\/11\/safe_drug_consumption_room.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2019\/11\/safe_drug_consumption_room.png","width":540,"height":350},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2020\/03\/31\/ian-hamilton-covid-19-mean-illegal-drug-market-people-dependent\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ian Hamilton: What will covid-19 mean for the illegal drug market and people dependent upon it?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/","name":"The BMJ","description":"Helping doctors make better decisions.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#organization","name":"The BMJ","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2018\/05\/The-BMJ-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2018\/05\/The-BMJ-logo.jpg","width":852,"height":568,"caption":"The BMJ"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bmjdotcom\/","https:\/\/x.com\/bmj_latest"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#\/schema\/person\/ba3da426ed20e8f1d933ca367d8216fe","name":"BMJ","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"BMJ"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47043"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47043\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}