In a field report on February 1, Iran’s state-run newspaper, Etemad, discussed the prices and types of commonly used drugs in Iran. The report highlighted that over the past seven years, opium consumption has significantly decreased, with heroin and meth emerging as the most commonly used drugs.
The report was compiled based on interviews with owners and therapists from drug addiction treatment centers, including camps, clinics, and transitory harm reduction centers in all 31 provinces of the country. It compared the consumption trends of various drugs with the results of the latest national research published in 2016.
Across all provinces, heroin and meth emerged as the most consumed substances, while opium consumption experienced a drastic decline, reaching zero in some areas. Additionally, the continuous use of substances like ‘methadone syrup and tablets,’ recognized as addiction treatment drugs, was reported as widespread.
According to therapists, the recent increase in the prices of heroin and opium has prompted many users to turn to methadone tablets and syrup available on the black market. Another contributing factor to the rise in heroin consumption is the increase in impurities and additives, such as sleeping pills, which shorten the duration of addiction, leading users to increase their daily consumption.
Conversely, the significant decrease in opium consumption is attributed to a substantial increase in retail and wholesale prices. This increase has resulted in only the elderly continuing to use opium. Therapists caution that the high retail price of opium may lead this demographic to switch to cheaper substances like meth.
The report identifies ‘multi-drug addicts’ in all provinces who simultaneously use various drugs and psychedelics. According to the last national research in 2016, the number of continuous drug users, stimulant users, or psychotropic substance users in the country was 2,808,000 people. Among them, 77.4% (2,173,392 people) were opium users, 297,648 people were heroin users, and 227,448 were meth users.
Etemad highlights a consistent prevalence rate of addiction among the population aged 15 to 64 at 4.5% since 2016. The report provides different prevalence numbers for various drugs in 2016, indicating that 66.8% of addicts used opium, 9.11% were regular marijuana users, 6.10% used heroin, and 1.8% used meth.
In another section, Etemad delves into the retail prices of different drugs across provinces, noting variations based on proximity to the Iran-Afghanistan border, the main entry point for drugs and psychotropic substances. As of February, the average retail price of one gram of heroin was 451,428 tomans in 28 provinces, while each gram of meth was 271,600 tomans in 25 provinces. Opium’s average retail price was 121,562 tomans in 16 provinces.
The report underscores the fluctuation in the pricing of addictive substances, tied to changes in the currency market and inflation rates, as evidenced by Etemad’s research compared to studies from the past two decades.
Etemad estimates the daily consumption of narcotic drugs in Iran based on the assumption that the number of continuous users has remained constant since 2016. According to their assessment, a continuous heroin user consumes at least two to three grams per day, while an opium user consumes at least three grams daily, depending on the consumption method. The report also considers marijuana consumption, equating one gram to four to five cigarettes.
Taking an ‘optimistic and minimal’ stance, Etemad suggests that addicts consume at least one gram of various drugs daily, totaling a minimum of 2,808 kilograms per day and over 1,000 tons annually in the country. This is considered the minimum consumption based on the most optimistic assumption.
Etemad highlights the absence of detailed statistics on narcotics or psychotropic substance consumption breakdowns in the country since 2016. Based on their estimates, the report emphasizes that more than 205 trillion tomans worth of various drugs are purchased in Iran each year.
