Around 700 people are seeking daily treatment for their heroin addiction, Malta’s social welfare agency FSWS told Lovin Malta on the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

These clients are currently being treated at Seqda’s Detox Centre in Gwardamanġa and provided with the drug methadone as a substitute for heroin while another 100 people attend for other psychiatric reasons.

During the pandemic, methadone was being distributed at the homes of people who required it. There was no reported change in numbers during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Treatment for cannabis addiction was also noted, with ten people seeking help. The FWSW did not comment on what kind of treatment these patients were receiving.

Most recent data says that there are 1,425 high-risk opioid users in Malta, according to a European monitoring agency for drugs, with heroin treatment accounting for 70% of all entrants for drug abuse.

However, alcohol abuse is still seen as the biggest problem, according to Detox Clinic Director Dr. George Grech.

“Alcohol abuse is the first problem and other issues emerged like gaming, internet addiction, sex addiction, so these will be the challenges we will be seeing in the future, Dr Grech told TVM.

Internationally, the pandemic has led to an increase in drug use, trafficking as well as higher risks for narcotic users. According to a UN report yesterday, rising unemployment and reduced opportunities exacerbate by COVID-19 is disproportionally affecting the world’s poorest and people look to cheaper drugs.

The organisation’s drugs and crime agency (UNODC) said around 269 million people used drugs in the previous year, up 30% from 2009.

It is said that 35 million people worldwide suffer from drug use disorders.

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