There are “virtually no limitations” to the range of chemicals used to produce so-called new psychoactive drugs, the world’s drug law watchdog has said.
The International Narcotics Control Board said over 600 such substances were known as of last October, 450 of them identified in Europe.
Many of these synthetic drugs, such as 2NBOMe, a-PVP and PMMA, have been linked with numerous fatalities and near fatalities in Ireland, most recently in the death of teenager Alex Ryan in Cork last January.
In its annual report for 2005, the INCB also criticised “simplistic calls” to regulate the supply of illegal drugs and called on the UN General Assembly to reaffirm the existing international conventions controlling drugs.
The General Assembly is holding a special session next month to review the operation of the conventions amid mounting calls from numerous bodies and experts for a move away from criminalising drugs towards harm reduction, including possible decriminalisation or legalisation.
The report said there was an “ever changing spectrum” of new psychoactive substances (NPS), which mimic cannabis, amphetamines, cocaine and ecstasy.
It said a UN early warning system had identified 602 unique NPS by October 2015, a 55% increase on the previous year.
Source: Cormac O'Keeffe, Irish Examiner, 03/03/16
Safer Student Nights
eBulletin
Poll
