Many people are turning to prescription drugs – and some to herbal remedies and even hard drugs – amid an outlook that feels bleaker than the collapse of the Soviet Union
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ris Sánchez believed he had left Cuba for good when he moved to London in 1994, but concerns for his ailing parents brought him back in 2018. Since then, the strain of life in Havana has caused him to turn to prescription drugs – “Just to take the edge off things,” he said.
He is not alone. Currently under a US-imposed oil blockade, and following years of economic decline, Cubans are self-administering regulated drugs in growing numbers, as a mental health crisis envelopes the island.
There are few official statistics – the Cuban government has long been keen to emphasise its people’s “resilience” – but the Guardian spoke to healthcare professionals the length and breadth of the island, who reported that most families include at least one member turning to the black market to buy antidepressants, mood stabilisers or stimulants.
