Pandemic Disrupts Illegal Drug Trade, Upending Both Product and Profits

May 25, 2020 | Brian Mann, NPR
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The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the illegal drug trade in ways not seen since World War II, affecting nearly every country and many different kinds of drugs, according to a report compiled by the United Nations. In many ways, turmoil in the black market for narcotics and other drugs appears to mirror the pandemic's impact on legal industries struggling with labor and transportation. It's harvest season right now in the poppy fields of Afghanistan, the world's biggest heroin supplier, but the U.N. report found a sudden shortage of field workers.