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Getting the latest healthcare news for you
Getting the latest healthcare news for you
When Mexico's only methadone manufacturer shut down in 2023, patients in Tijuana paid a steep price. A new Lancet study found that the shortage slashed methadone treatment rates and nearly doubled illicit opioid and injection drug use. Anxiety symptoms also spiked, highlighting how supply chain disruptions can ripple into serious public health consequences.
When Mexico's Psicofarma factory closed in 2023, it triggered a national methadone shortage that left thousands of opioid use disorder (OUD) patients without access to a critical treatment. A new longitudinal study published in The Lancet Regional Health tracked 200 patients in Tijuana across three time periods to quantify the fallout — and the results are striking.
Methadone treatment rates plummeted from 36% before the shortage to just 13% at its peak, while illicit opioid use nearly doubled (38% to 69%) and injection drug use surged from 37% to 72%. Even after production partially resumed, recovery was incomplete — illicit opioid use and injection drug use remained elevated compared to pre-closure levels. Anxiety symptoms peaked at 37% during the height of the shortage.
Crucially, the study found that methadone treatment itself was strongly protective: patients on methadone were far less likely to use illicit opioids, inject drugs, or experience significant anxiety — underscoring just how much damage the supply disruption caused.
By the Numbers
Why it matters: This study is one of the first to quantitatively link a national medication supply disruption to real-world drug use and mental health outcomes. It's a cautionary tale for health systems worldwide: when access to addiction treatment is interrupted — even temporarily — the downstream harms can be severe and slow to reverse.
