Adequacy of the addictions treatment in Uzbekistan

Background: Dramatic transformations in the illicit drug market in Uzbekistan in the past decade have led to significant changes in the patients’ profile. The drop in the number of opioid-dependent patients in 2010-2015 was accompanied by a stable increase in the abuse of pharmaceutical drugs and continued by explosive growth in the use of new psychoactive substances (NPS) and the reemergence of opiates after the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed to examine the prevalence of drug abuse, availability and popularity of drugs, and their correlates with addictions treatment in Uzbekistan.

Methods: We derived prevalence data from official registers of drug treatment clinics and compared it with the data on the availability of evidence-based drug treatment services as well as the data on drug seizures published by the National Drug Control Center. We reviewed available data on availability and popularity of various drugs in the Web and offline.

Results: The steady decrease in the volume of seized opiates since 2010 went with an equivalent decrease in the number of patients seeking treatment for opioid dependence. However, the annual increase in the volume of seized Illegal drugs that had exceeded 20% in 2020 did not result in the anticipated growth of demand for treatment. Although NPS, including mephedrone, became the most often purchased class of drugs in the Uzbek segment of the Darknet, in 2021 the share of NPS in the overall structure of patients registered by drug treatment clinics remained as low as 15%.

Conclusion: The inadequate response of Uzbekistan’s addictions treatment system to the ever-changing drug situation represents a significant public health problem that requires improvements in drug policy, monitoring, and treatment.