Historique
Article de Périodique
Rethinking drug-related harms as emerging through global systems (2026)
Auteur(s) :
CALUZZI, G. ;
NORMAN, T.
Année
2026
Page(s) :
121-131
Langue(s) :
Anglais
Domaine :
Drogues illicites
Discipline :
SAN (Santé publique / Public health)
Thésaurus géographique
INTERNATIONAL
Thésaurus mots-clés
ENVIRONNEMENT
;
FACTEUR DE RISQUE
;
SANTE PUBLIQUE
;
INEGALITE
;
CRISE ECONOMIQUE
;
PRODUIT ILLICITE
;
PRODUCTION
;
TECHNOLOGIE
;
MARCHE DE LA DROGUE
;
ECOLOGIE
;
MONDIALISATION
Résumé :
Background: In this think piece, we discuss the value of linking global systems to local level drug markets and drug-related harms.
Method: We suggest that global changes have significant implications for potential harms to consumers and communities, with reference to three macro-level systems - climate change, economic downturns, and technological developments.
Results: Climate change exacerbates risks associated with drug use due to extreme weather conditions, reproducing environmental inequalities, and can also influence drug crop production and the need for synthetic alternatives. Economic downturns, like those following COVID-19, can affect drug markets in ways that incentivize potentially harmful forms of supply and demand, and potentially creating further disparities for marginalized populations. Technological advances have facilitated and expanded unregulated distribution channels, can reproduce inequalities through monitoring analytics and AI, and enable the production of new synthetic drugs. Systems thinking, a holistic approach to analyzing these interconnected inputs, is proposed as a useful framework for connecting the global to the local in terms of understanding drug-related harms.
Conclusions: We conclude that these macro-level shifts offer a strong case for new and more interconnected ways of thinking about drug-related harms as emerging through globally connected systems, and argue that a systems approach is best equipped to examine these processes. [Author's abstract]
Method: We suggest that global changes have significant implications for potential harms to consumers and communities, with reference to three macro-level systems - climate change, economic downturns, and technological developments.
Results: Climate change exacerbates risks associated with drug use due to extreme weather conditions, reproducing environmental inequalities, and can also influence drug crop production and the need for synthetic alternatives. Economic downturns, like those following COVID-19, can affect drug markets in ways that incentivize potentially harmful forms of supply and demand, and potentially creating further disparities for marginalized populations. Technological advances have facilitated and expanded unregulated distribution channels, can reproduce inequalities through monitoring analytics and AI, and enable the production of new synthetic drugs. Systems thinking, a holistic approach to analyzing these interconnected inputs, is proposed as a useful framework for connecting the global to the local in terms of understanding drug-related harms.
Conclusions: We conclude that these macro-level shifts offer a strong case for new and more interconnected ways of thinking about drug-related harms as emerging through globally connected systems, and argue that a systems approach is best equipped to examine these processes. [Author's abstract]
Affiliation :
Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia