Quality "A" Quality "F" COVID-19 and the drug supply chain: from production and trafficking to use 18 country with large-scale illicit manufacturing of methamphetamine and the combination of the COVID19 restrictions and considerable law enforcement operations may also affect the synthetic drugs market. Ultimately, the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on the markets for opiates and synthetic drugs will depend on the intensity of the restrictive measures and their duration. The availability of precursor substances required in the manufacturing of heroin and synthetic drugs does not seem to be affected because those substances are mostly trafficked within the region and through unofficial border crossings.35 Overall, the COVID-19 measures do not seem to have affected drug production in Myanmar directly, but they may have limited opportunities to sell products to foreign buyers. Mexico In Mexico, opium is produced throughout the year and there is no dedicated growing season. Contrary to what happens in Afghanistan, the opium harvest is spread over time and there is no single period in the year when a large workforce is needed. For that reason, the immediate impact of COVID-19 measures on current opium production may be limited, but the situation requires careful monitoring as changes in mobility restrictions and police activities may disrupt the opiate trade from the farmgate onward. The manufacturing of heroin in Mexico may not be heavily affected by the reduction in trade either, since the main precursor, acetic anhydride, can be produced in the country. The trafficking of heroin may, however, still be disrupted because its main destination is the United States where the borders are affected by COVID-19 restrictions. 36 The illicit production of synthetic drugs, mainly methamphetamine and fentanyl (and its analogues), is also likely to be disrupted because of a possible shortage of imported precursors. Indeed, a shortage in the supply of fentanyl precursors originating in China has been reported in the media. 37 Cocaine Coca leaf is produced in Colombia, Peru and the Plurinational State of Bolivia. All three countries adopted mobility restrictions to contain the spread of COVID-19 in March/April 2020, but since coca bush is a perennial plant that grows and is harvested throughout the year, the overall impact on the annual coca leaf harvest resulting from those restrictions could be limited. However, cocaine production may be more affected in terms of a reduction in eradication and shortage of precursors. While media sources report that the eradication campaign is continuing as planned in Colombia,38 in response to the pandemic, Peru suspended eradication efforts on 15 March, bricks, 135 kg of raw opium, 1.6 kg of solid opium poppy, and 441 kg of crystalline methamphetamine over the period 28 February to 15 March 2020. 35 UNODC field office assessment. 36 Vice.com. Available at https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/bvgazz/sinaloa-cartel-drug-traffickers-explain-why-coronavirus-isvery-bad-for-their-business. 37 Ibid. 38 El País. Available at https://elpais.com/internacional/2020-04-23/la-erradicacion-forzosa-de-plantios-de-coca-en-colombia-unachispa-en-medio-de-la-pandemia.html. COVID-19 and the drug supply chain: from production and trafficking to use 19 2020.39 In the Plurinational State of Bolivia, the sociopolitical conflicts of October/November 2019 had already affected the coca leaf market and cocaine production, as the premature withdrawal of the eradication task groups caused a reduction in eradication compared with the previous year. 40 Moreover, after November 2019, the “Social Control” approach that had been adopted earlier has not been appliable because of the difficult relations between the new authorities and the coca producers. The Bolivian State continues to be in charge of regulating of the number of coca producers and the area of their plantations, as well as, the rationalization and eradication measures, in coordination with the coca cultivation organizations. In Colombia, 41 intensified law enforcement and closed borders may reduce cocaine production capacity. Coca producers, in particular in eastern Colombia, are reportedly suffering from a shortage of gasoline, a chemical essential for cocaine production, which was previously smuggled from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. The supply chains for trafficking cocaine abroad appear to be strongly affected by the increase in police controls, which could lead producers to stockpile the drug in Colombia. In Peru, DEVIDA, the national drug control agency,42 has reported a 46 per cent drop in the price of coca leaf from January to April 2020. Media sources 43 have also reported a sharp decline in cocaine prices since the implementation of COVID-19 restrictions. The price drop has been attributed to decreasing demand by traffickers who have had difficulties in transporting the drug. Low coca leaf and cocaine prices may discourage farmers from increasing the area under coca bush cultivation in the short term, but in the longer term, illicit coca bush cultivation may increasingly offer the impoverished rural population an alternative to the economic losses resulting from the COVID-19 measures. Synthetic drugs Occurring in every region across the world, the production of synthetic drugs is less