Addictions during Covid-19 confinement in Asturias

The expansion that COVID-19 has reached worldwide led the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic on 11th March 2020 and to proclaim a State of Alarm throughout Spain on 14th March. The requirement to stay in our homes is a break in our usual routine and a situation that may cause changes in people who use substances. Our objective is, on the one hand, to reflect on the influence on the psychological level that this context could have on people with addictions and, on the other hand, to describe the changes that have taken place in the health care for addictions in the public services of the Principality of Asturias. If we take into consideration some critical situations of the past, it becomes clear that this kind of experience does not necessarily imply an increase in drug consumption. Regarding changes in health care, the context of the coronavirus has required professionals to adapt by developing alternative routes of intervention and reducing face-to-face contact in favour of telephone. Finally, we believe that, when assessing risk, it is important to know the person’s motivations and the role that drug use has in their lives, as drugs are only a part of the problem.