Home > New drugs becoming available at ‘unprecedented pace’, says report

EMCDDA, EUROPOL. [EMCDDA] New drugs becoming available at ‘unprecedented pace’, says report. (11 May 2011)

External website: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/news/2011/2

New psychoactive substances are becoming widely available at an ‘unprecedented pace’. This is according to the EMCDDA–Europol 2010 annual report on new drugs entering the European market released today in Lisbon (1). In 2010, a record number of new drugs were officially reported to the EMCDDA and Europol via the EU early-warning system (EWS) on new psychoactive substances (2).

A total of 41 new psychoactive substances were officially notified for the first time to the two agencies in 2010. This represents the largest number of substances ever reported in a single year, considerably up on 2009 (24 substances) and 2008 (13 substances). The full list of substances notified, annexed to the report, shows a ‘rather diverse’ group, including: synthetic cannabinoids, synthetic cathinones, synthetic derivatives of well-established drugs, as well as one plant-based substance.

Under the so-called ‘Spice’ phenomenon (3), 11 new synthetic cannabinoids were picked up in 2010, bringing the total number of these substances monitored by the EWS up to 27. Responding to health concerns, at least 16 European countries have now taken legal action to ban or otherwise control ‘Spice’ products and related compounds.


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