Itâ??s not just toilet paper that people are running to buy. Some illegal drug users are reported to be collecting the substance, as restrictions aimed at stopping the spread of coronavirus disrupt the international supply chain.

And the consequences can be devastating, with experts worried that people will adopt more dangerous habits, replace unknown medications, which can be dangerous if not managed. Since users often have other health problems, this may mean increased health care efforts.

UK crime experts told CNN they were concerned about the escalation of drug prices after international borders were closed and supply lines were cut off.

" There are reports coming from people who amassing their favorite drug, which has inevitably led to price increases ," Ian Hamilton, a senior lecturer on addiction and mental health at York University, told CNN. .

He said he expected to see heroin "disappear very, very soon" in the UK.

" It seems likely that the drug supply that these people use, particularly heroin, will be limited ... it will be more challenging to move drugs around. I think we're likely to see a drought, a drought of heroin, "said Hamilton.

Alex Stevens, a professor of criminal law at the University of Kent, told CNN that in areas including Birmingham and Bristol, users of heroin and cannabis "are reporting that they are getting less in a 10 £ ($ 12) bag than they would have." done four or five weeks ago. " But it is an industry that operates on supply and demand.

Steve Rolles, senior analyst at the Drug Policy Transformation Foundation, has heard that traders dress in the uniforms of nurses and supermarket uniforms to make deliveries unnoticed. Users may switch from less dangerous methods of taking drugs to injections. They can use deadly drug combinations. They can go overdose only because of the social distance.

A worrying problem is the spread of fentanyl (a synthetic drug), which is 50 times stronger than heroin and therefore can be transported in much smaller quantities. The drug has not yet spread to other countries, including Britain, but is wreaking havoc in the United States. The drug is often produced in China, as well as in Mexico and possibly Eastern Europe.

Drug users are more likely to live with multiple people, have trouble breathing or other health problems, and may be homeless. They are therefore more at risk of contracting Covid-19.

Governments are aware of the risks. The UK government has asked local authorities to house all homeless people. The U.S., UK and Canada are allowing isolated users to take addiction medications, such as methadone and buprenorphine, once a week or every two weeks instead of every day, but this also poses risks.

The coming weeks and months will be crucial in identifying the effects of coronavirus on drug use.