A Havana resident sparked a flurry of activity on social media on Thursday with a post that captures the despair of many Cubans: she shared a photograph of a person lying on the ground in a fetal position, allegedly in the park at the intersection of 23rd and 14th streets in Vedado, apparently under the influence of synthetic drugs.
Jarocha Reyes Vega, the author of the publication, described the scene with a phrase that encapsulates collective exhaustion: "To stress, to blackouts, to the lack of water, to the cost of living, and to poor living conditions, we add the pandemic of DRUGS... 'the little piece of paper' or 'chemical' is gaining ground. What are the authorities doing about it? This is a problem that requires URGENT actions" (sic).
The image and text sparked dozens of reactions of outrage. One internet user summarized the feelings of many: "What a horror, in broad daylight and in the park where children play and families stroll." Another was more blunt regarding official inaction: "The authorities don’t see that. It doesn't hurt them and they don't care." A third highlighted complicity directly: "Unfortunately, they see and even know where it comes from and who sells it, but they turn a blind eye because they are also filling their pockets with someone else’s pain."
The phenomenon depicted in the publication is neither new nor isolated. "El químico" — the popular name used in Cuba for products containing synthetic cannabinoids, also known as "papelito" — can be sold in small pieces of paper soaked with the substance, a form that makes it easier to conceal and transport.
Cuban specialists have warned that some of these cannabinoids can produce effects that are 50 to 100 times stronger than those of THC. Their low price enhances their accessibility: various sources have documented doses ranging from 150 to 300 Cuban pesos, with recent reports indicating values around 250 CUP. Consumption particularly affects adolescents and young people: there are even reports of cases involving individuals younger than that age.
The figures confirm the magnitude of the problem. According to official data cited by the AP agency, medical emergencies due to the consumption of these substances in Havana nearly doubled between 2024 and 2025, rising from 467 to 886 cases. Cuban laboratories have identified at least 46 variants of synthetic cannabinoids circulating on the island. Drug-related crimes, meanwhile, increased by 115% in 2025 compared to the previous year, according to the Cuban Citizen Audit Observatory (OCAC).
The regime has responded with police operations in several provinces. This month, joint forces from the Ministry of the Interior dismantled a network in Central Havana with 13 arrests, six home searches, and the seizure of cocaine and 184 strips of synthetic cannabinoids.
This week, two operations in Guantánamo led to several arrests for marijuana and "chemicals." In August, a man was arrested in Matanzas with 30 packets of the substance and a large sum of cash. In Cuba, trafficking synthetic cannabinoids can result in severe prison sentences: the basic type of drug trafficking carries a penalty of four to ten years, although the application of more serious circumstances has led to sentences of up to 15 years.
However, citizens question that the operations address the consequences without tackling the causes. The social crisis that drives young people towards drugs—prolonged blackouts, food and medicine shortages, unemployment, and lack of prospects—remains unanswered by the state.
General violence has also surged: homicides increased by 42.9% in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025, and the NGO Cubalex documented 52 homicides just in August, marking it as the most violent month since they began their monitoring.
A user expressed this bitterly in the comments of the viral post: "This is an evil that has come to stay [...]. With sadness and pain, we must acknowledge it, but there is no antidote for that poison —and I’m not just referring to the drug."
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