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Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Elsevier hereby grants permission to make all its COVIDrelated research that is available on the COVID resource centre - including this research content - immediately available in PubMed Central and other publicly funded repositories, such as the WHO COVID database with rights for unrestricted research re-use and analyses in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. The COVID pandemic spread rapidly worldwide in the year , which was initially restrained by drastic mobility restrictions. The remaining substances were detected in all the investigated catchment areas. In general, no remarkable changes were found in population normalized loads compared to former years, except for cocaine i. Furthermore, two events of ecstasy 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, MDMA dumping in the sewage network were confirmed by enantiomeric analysis, one in Santiago de Compostela just prior the lockdown and the second one in the Bilbao and its metropolitan area in July after relieving the more stringent measures. The latter could also be associated with a police intervention. The comparison of WBE with web survey data, which do not provide information at a local level, points towards contradictory conclusions for some of the substances, thereby highlighting the need for stable WBE networks capable of near real-time monitoring drug use. Due to the rapid transmission of the virus in early , most countries imposed lockdowns and perimeter closures, affecting mobility, and limiting essential activities. Subsequently, the closure of bars, pubs, clubs, restaurants etc. The obliged self-isolation produced a change in our lifestyle that could have had a psychological impact on human health Brooks et al. As regards to illicit drugs, these restriction measures have had an important impact on the logistics of drugs trafficking European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, a. Despite this, access to them has not been totally affected since, new distribution strategies have been adopted to overcome the restrictions, such as the use of darknet markets European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, b. However, such methods are not, on their own, able to capture the real impact of the pandemic over drug use Palamar and Acosta, The analysis of wastewater can give an additional and representative estimation of human consumption of licit and illicit substances during the pandemic. This methodology, known as wastewater based epidemiology WBE , uses wastewater as an anonymized, integrated and diluted sample of urine of a particular location to obtain comprehensive results, which can be then completed with surveys results van Wel et al. WBE has been successfully used in studying spatial and temporal differences of illicit drug use Bijlsma et al. Nowadays, the scope of WBE has been extended to many applications, such as the estimation of alcohol and tobacco consumption Castiglioni et al. Due to the fast expansion on the subsequent weeks, the authorities declared the state of alarm on 15 March and imposed a lockdown, where only essential activities were permitted and movement was restricted to buy groceries and other essential goods, seek medical attendance, etc. During March, cases continued to rise with a peak on 31 March In the following weeks, cases and deaths followed a decreasing pattern until 11 May , when the quarantine ended. In Spain, wastewater sampling was performed in the period between 10 March to 14 July , depending on the particular location sampled. Further details are provided in Section 3. On 16 March , schools were closed and two days later, on 18 March , the Emergency State was declared, and Portugal was placed under a strict lockdown. During the consecutive weeks, new cases and deaths decreased until 2 May , when the quarantine ended. The so-called state of calamity Estado de Calamidade , divided in three phases started the same day, where gradually, recreative centers, activities etc. Wastewater samples were collected from 19 April to 24 July in Portugal. Sodium acetate and sodium chloride were obtained from Fluka Steinheim, Germany. Table S1 compiles sampling dates and flow rates of each individual sample, the characteristics of the WWTPs and sampling mode. A time-proportional sampling mode was employed in all cities. Further data from and and in the case of Porto were obtained from the literature Bijlsma et al. Besides, both laboratories participated and satisfactorily passed the interlab study organized by the SCORE Network in , which warrants good performance and comparability of the results van Nuijs et al. Concentrations of each particular biomarker compiled in Table S2 were used to determine population-normalized daily loads compiled in Table S3 of each compound in the 24 h composite wastewater samples, Eq. Human consumption rates presented in Table S4 were then estimated Eq. Although a recent study in Australia Thai et al. Besides, the use of the same CF as previously applied in former studies in Spain warrants a better comparability of data. These were used to derive the enantiomeric fraction EF , which was then employed to tentatively differentiate between licit prescription or illicit abuse consumption and direct dumping in the sewage network. Data were plotted with Microsoft Excel and R ggplot2 package. Moreover, a more detailed division according to the different de-escalation phases, as detailed in Section 2 and Fig. The horizontal line and blue dots and smaller black dots represent the median, mean and individual datapoints, respectively. Further detailed plots are presented in Fig. MAMP remained below the detection limits in all samples. This is consistent with former studies in Europe and Spain Bijlsma et al. In fact, in a former study where samples from 13 Spanish cities were collected during a week in Spring Bijlsma et al. These findings confirm our former studies in the area of Bilbao, where a high consumption of AMP was observed mean ca. The statistical analysis confirmed that there was no statistical difference Table S6 between the different periods of the study, including former years in the case of Bilbao and its metropolitan area. Furthermore, these findings also point to the fact that AMP use is not a local issue in Bilbao and its metropolitan area, but a regional behaviour, which will position the consumption of AMP in the Basque Country at levels close to those found in central Europe, e. Data from this region agree with general-population surveys GPS , as regards the fact that AMP consumption is higher in this region as compared to the rest of Spain, but WBE estimations indicate that such difference is larger to what GPS report, as already discussed in former studies Bijlsma et al. Other WBE studies Alygizakis et al. However, this trend was not observed in this study. MDMA was detected in the six studied cities. The excretion loads of MDMA in ranged from 0. Hence, these two together with other randomly selected samples were subjected to enantiomeric analysis. Given this observation, these two events were not considered for calculating average loads Table S3 nor for consumption back-calculation Table S4. In the case of the metropolitan area of Bilbao the finding was also consistent with media reports e. EUS, ; El Diario Vasco, from July reporting a police action taking place on the previous day where a drug trafficking organization was dismantled. Considering the loads on those two days related to disposal events and average loads in wastewater in Santiago de Compostela and Bilbao and its metropolitan area under normal circumstances Table S3 , we could calculate the disposed amount, which would translate into 39 and g of pure MDMA in the event in Santiago de Compostela and Bilbao and its metropolitan area, respectively. This would correspond to either tablets or These figures could be, however, underestimated, since they assume that all MDMA was dissolved in the transit from the disposal site to the WWTP where water was collected, but this may not be true. The extrapolated MDMA consumption after excluding the two direct disposal events is summarized in Fig. S2 and Table S4. S2 and Fig. Therefore, and considering the overall picture presented in Fig. Interestingly, these findings contrast both with on-line surveys and expert information Table 2 , which indicate an overall decrease in MDMA consumption during the lockdown. However, the conclusions from other WBE studies Table 1 differ from location to location, but the overall trend during the lockdown was also towards a decrease or no change in MDMA consumption as compared to former years in the studied areas. However, consumption seemed to recover in those places after lockdown relaxation in Europe European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, a. Both cocaine and its metabolite, benzoylecgonine were detected in all samples Table S2. The ratio of cocaine to benzoylecgonine was calculated as it may indicate a direct disposal event when above 1 Bijlsma et al. Altogether, this data points to the fact that no significant cocaine dumping occurred in The average calculated consumption of cocaine from benzoylecgonine, summarized in Fig. No statistical differences among the different time-periods considered were found in Vitoria-Gasteiz or Vila do Conde, where data from former years were not available, neither for Bilbao and its metropolitan area Table S6 , where data were available for one week in and The post-hoc test could not detect any statistical pairwise differences among periods in Santiago de Compostela, however, the data plotted in Figs. S3, Fig. S3 and Fig. Consumption levels were estimated with two different correction factors see Section 3. S4 , while calculations with CF Given that several uncertainties exit around this compound, as detailed elsewhere Bijlsma et al. In this context, the statistical analysis confirmed the existence of temporal statistically differences in all investigated locations, except Vila do Conde Table S6. In the case of Bilbao and its metropolitan area, the statistical difference is due to the higher loads of THC measured in respective subsequent periods Fig. S4, Table S6. Altogether, there is no clear trend on cannabis consumption Fig. Moreover, in this case, findings are in line with other WBE studies showing no change in cannabis consumption or even an increase Table 1 , which also agree with on-line surveys Table 2 where a remarkable change in cannabis consumption is not very clear. Nicotine consumption is presented in Fig. S5 as the average estimation from its two metabolites Montes et al. Although the presence of nicotine metabolites in wastewater may also be due to smoking cessation products or e-cigarettes, besides tobacco smoking, these other sources are expected to be rather small in the case of Spain, as discussed in Montes et al. The higher usage rate in this location may partially be due to the higher variability and should be confirmed in future studies. Considering 0. Charles et al. All locations showed statistical differences among periods, with the exception of Vila do Conde Table S6. In Santiago de Compostela, the differences were due to the low measured consumption during the 5 pre-lockdown days sampled as compared to Phases I and II of lockdown relaxation Table S6, Fig. The only two WBE studies considering tobacco Table 1 show contradictory conclusions Alygizakis et al. Thus, overall, the picture is not conclusive, but points towards a minor impact of COVID on tobacco. Although there was a significant decrease in tobacco sales in April and June respecting the same period of the former year Fig. In Bilbao and its metropolitan area consumption of ethanol in and remained stable Kruskal-Wallis p -value: 0. Other WBE studies Table 1 either point towards a stable alcohol consumption or decrease, which may also recovered after the strict lockdown period European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, a. As regards to global and Spanish survey reports, divergent results were shown Table 2 , pointing towards an increase or decrease at Global or Spanish level, respectively. Other publications considering surveys at Spanish level also point towards an overall decline in alcohol consumption Kilian et al. Yet, the data from the panel survey of domestic consumption of foods in Spain which includes alcoholic drinks show a dramatic increase of alcoholic drinks being sold in supermarkets and similar shops Fig. This increase in alcohol being taken home does, however, not necessary translate in an increased consumption, since alcohol consumption at bars, restaurants, etc. In this work, we have studied the use of illicit drugs, alcohol and tobacco by WBE during the initial months March—July of the pandemic in six locations in Spain and Portugal. The overall picture obtained points towards low impact of the COVID mobility restrictions, particularly after relieving the more stringent measures. Other WBE published studies showed very inconsistent conclusions, highly dependent on the locations under study. Yet, the Spanish statistics on mortality related to poisoning due to drugs of abuse, registered vs. Although the results of this study need to be interpreted with caution, they stress the importance and need for a stable WBE network for drug use monitoring that can provide rapid near real-time data to inform policy interventions in a pandemic context, as it has become a common practice for COVID monitoring itself. All relevant data generated or analyzed during this study are included in the supplementary information. The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article. As a library, NLM provides access to scientific literature. Sci Total Environ. Find articles by Lubertus Bijlsma. Find articles by Ricardo Capela. Find articles by Rafael Cela. Find articles by Alberto Celma. Find articles by Unax Lertxundi. Find articles by Rosa Montes. Find articles by Gorka Orive. Find articles by Ailette Prieto. Find articles by Miguel M Santos. Find articles by Rosario Rodil. Open in a new tab. Reference Reinstadler et al. Web survey of ca. Similar articles. Add to Collections. Create a new collection. Add to an existing collection. Choose a collection Unable to load your collection due to an error Please try again. Add Cancel. Reinstadler et al. Been et al. Alygizakis et al. Di Marcantonio et al. Bade et al. Did not change 2 locations Increase 1 location Decrease 4 locations. Global Drug Survey, Spanish OEDA telephonic survey with responders. Only the responders in the 15—64 years range are considered here b.

Drugs, Weapons, and Illegal Pharmaceuticals on Gran Canaria

Canary Islands buying Ecstasy

Posted by Timon. In recent weeks, the Guardia Civil of Gran Canaria, in collaboration with local police forces, have conducted several operations targeting drug trafficking on the island. There are regular arrests and confiscations, and while all agencies do what they can, the wholesale consumption of drugs and a shady underworld on Gran Canaria persist. While drug dealing is not new, nor unique, to tourist areas around the world, there are many who feel that the police simply turn a blind eye, and do too little to curb what they say is obvious harassment of tourists who wander around particular areas at night. Some shopping and leisure centres in the south have been marked out by street dealers as places where it is apparently safe for them to continually approach tourists, targeting in particular young men who visit the array of late night bars and clubs. While some members of the public suspect police corruption to be the only likely explanation for street dealers operating with impunity, the fact is often a lot more complex, whether it be the large numbers of individuals involved who covertly warn each other whenever law enforcement may approach, or indeed those bar owners who themselves see a benefit from allowing drug deals to continue in the areas around their venues. Often it seems that local law enforcement is powerless to stop the trade, though on occasion Guardia Civil units from the capital take the lead in ensuring that dealers are made aware that this is seen as a serious issue, and not just a local one to be expected in popular resort areas. None the less some of these larger operations appear to yield much lower rates of confiscations than might be expected, and of course that leads to greater suspicions of corruption among law enforcement teams in the south. This operation was part of a broader strategy to address drug trafficking and consumption in leisure areas. The authorities succeeded in seizing a variety of drugs, including hashish, pollen, and cocaine, alongside illegal weapons and unauthorized pharmaceuticals. The primary goal was to disrupt the drug supply to consumers and eliminate drug trafficking and possession in public and leisure spaces. A total of eight nighttime leisure venues were inspected, resulting in the seizure of narcotics, illegal weapons, and unauthorized pharmaceuticals. The operation led to the seizure of various drugs, including 5 grams of hashish, 4 grams of pollen, and 7 grams of cocaine. Prohibited weapons, including an extendable baton, and illegal pharmaceuticals, including 9 pills of sildenafil Viagra and 5 pills of anxiolytics Trankimazin , were also confiscated. Several establishments faced sanctions under the law regulating measures against smoking and the sale, supply, consumption, and advertising of tobacco products. Through these efforts, the authorities aim to deter criminal activities associated with drug trafficking and ensure a safer environment for both residents and visitors in the region. However the results, while acting as some form of warning to criminals, cannot really be said to be representative of the apparent scale of the problem, with various gangs known to wander around some of these nightspots in quite large numbers, the amounts of substances seized does not appear to tally up with the sheer quantity of individuals apparently seeking to profit. Previous Operation in Arucas: A Major Blow to Drug Trafficking Another seemingly more significant operation took place in the northern municipality of Arucas, following an extensive investigation triggered by a violent robbery reported on February The Guardia Civil arrested a year-old man, accused of a public health crime related to drug trafficking. The operation uncovered over 1, euros in cash, and a substantial amount of narcotics, including heroin, methamphetamine, hashish, and cocaine. This arrest led to the dismantling of what appears to have been a major drug distribution point, well away from the bright lights and late night venues of the touristed south, and highlighted a connection between violent crime and drug trafficking. On March 8, the Guardia Civil arrested a year-old man in Firgas, Gran Canaria, marking a breakthrough in a complex investigation into drug trafficking and associated crimes. This individual, suspected of a public health offense related to drug trafficking, was found in possession of over 1, euros in cash, drug distribution paraphernalia, grams of heroin, The arrest dismantled a known drug distribution point and followed a meticulous investigation initiated by the Guardia Civil after a woman reported a violent robbery at her establishment in Arucas on February During the incident, several items were stolen, and the owner sustained injuries to her forearms while attempting to prevent the theft, necessitating medical treatment. In response to this violent episode, Guardia Civil agents collected comprehensive data and, supported by security camera footage and community cooperation, identified the perpetrators. This led to the arrest of four individuals, aged between 17 and 40, all implicated in the robbery. Further investigations revealed potential involvement in a continued domestic abuse offense and drug trafficking by one of the suspects. The Guardia Civil confirmed the occurrence of gender violence, identifying a victim who had suffered injuries in two separate incidents, one of which required hospital treatment, blood transfusions, and surgery. Additionally, 1, euros in cash and various drug distribution tools, such as precision scales, a mixer for drug preparation, and a packaging machine, were confiscated. This comprehensive operation culminated in the arrest of the main suspect for drug trafficking, revealing evidence of involvement by his partner. Both operations underline the multifaceted approach of law enforcement agencies in tackling the drug problem on the island. The operation in Arucas also uncovered a continuous crime of domestic abuse and a case of gender violence, emphasizing the broader social implications of drug trafficking activities. The intervention allowed for the assistance and identification of a victim of gender violence, further illustrating the interconnectedness of various forms of criminality. In conclusion, these operations not only reflect the proactive stance of the Guardia Civil and local police forces against drug trafficking and related crimes but also highlight the complexity of the drug problem in Gran Canaria. By targeting both the supply and distribution of drugs, these operations do contribute to the safety and well-being of the community, demonstrating a commitment to addressing not only the symptoms but also the root causes of drug-related crimes. Nonetheless there are residents of the touristed south who feel that much more could be done, as they say they witness constant street dealing on a daily basis, and yet despite frequent police patrols they feel absolutely nothing is being done to tackle or discourage the open supply of narcotics to tourists, several of whom seem to discern no issue with purchasing a range of substances from strangers who operate in plain view, who, some fear, may also be capable of threatening great violence if questioned or reprimanded by members of the public. Some feel powerless to protect their clientele beyond the walls of their own venues, and even feel that they have to hire private security to ensure no threatening behaviour or illicit activities are occurring in front of families and other holiday makers who, for the most part, have no interest in getting high or dealing with criminals. Others, though, see no problem in the status quo, looking the other way, living and let live and, of course, as a direct result, profiting from open criminality on our streets. Where will it all end? While drug use is not rife here, it can be visible in several places and, in the end, that will deter family tourism, which is the life blood of this economy. The job for law enforcement is difficult, without clear evidence of criminality they are left to a guessing game, while street dealers making approaches to tourists only carry relatively small amounts, they are supplied by others who stay out of the public eye. The community is left to feel abandoned and therefore do not report most of what they see on a nightly basis. Either we aim higher, or we allow the situation to descend further. We all have a stake in this. Follow Follow Follow Follow Booking. Nonetheless, there are many residents and visitors who express dissatisfaction with the blatant scale of dealing openly in some areas, particularly nightspots connected to tourism. About The Author. Related Posts. Gran Canaria Beach Weather.

Canary Islands buying Ecstasy