Transcript What substance

PROBLEMS WITH NEW PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES AND HOW
TO DEAL WITH IT
Roman Gabrhelík
Serbia, 2013
NSPs - terminology
•
New psychoactive substance (NPS) that
• is not controlled by intnt’l UN treaties dating 1961 a 1971,
• may have equal impact on public health as already controlled
substances (Council Decision 2005/387/JHA)
•
•
•
= ‘designer drugs’, ‘ethno botanicals’, ‘research chemicals’…
= „legal highs“ X but not so „legal“
= Synthetic substances („new synthetic drugs“ - NSD)
• Cannabinoids
• of herbal origin
•
May come in different forms: herbal mixtures, powders, crystals,
tablets, solutions…
Actual Trend
•
Prohibition creates incentives
for the production of other
substances
NPSs in EU
250
200
•
•
Every year there are more new
substances than in the
previous year
Every new substance we know
less than the previous one
(=risk unknown)
Made illegal in EU
NSs
Total NPSs
150
100
50
0
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
3
6
9
4
14
7
15 13 24 41 49 73
Počet zákazů v EU
Počet nových látek
Celkový počet nových
14
látek
21
36
49
73
114 163 236
What are the NSPs?
Dependence
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A dependence on these substances is highly questionable,
given the the two following reasons:
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•
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We don’t have enough scientifically reliable data
The sporadic use does not allow us to monitor development of
addiction.
However, given the experience with similar substances, particularly
MDMA and some hallucinogens, we assume that some of these
substances may have the potential to cause psychological
dependence.
The physical addiction is no information available (Palenicek).
‘Don’t knows’ related with NPS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
How many NPS users there are?
How to ask correctly for prevalence?
• different products, materials
• different understanding
• difficult to describe
What are the main sources of NPS supply the drug market?
• Online shops vs. under-the-counter
• New methods of selling – via a mediator
What new substances are actually used?
• What is being sold
• Is what is being sold actually used
What are the risks of NPS?
• EWS x new undetectable substances
• Discussion forum
1. Prevalence - Who to ask?
What is the prevalence of use of NPS (comp. to ‘traditional’ drugs)?
•General population
•
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Population studies
Online surveys
•School populations
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(e-)shops have no age limits
•Night life venues / Music events
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Experimentators
Party goers
•Recreational drug users / Experimentators
•
Availability / price
2. Prevalence - How to ask?
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Questions asking about use in the lifetime, the past 12 months,
past 30 days separately for each type of substance
•
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Synthetic cannabinoids
New synthetic drugs
Herbal drugs
What substance
•
Do you know the structural formula of the substance used? (MDPV,
MCPP..)
• If not, do you know the chemical group? (piperazines, tryptamines)
• How the drug was called?
• Funky / Plan B / Euphoria (and others)
• If not, what was the effect of the drug? (stimulant,
hallucinogen, downer)
2. So what is the prevalence
•
Relatively low compared with ‘traditional’ illicit substances for the
general and school student populations.
•
General population; LifetimePrev (EMQ):
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Highest: Ireland (2011) (15-64 years) 3.5%; (15-34 years) 6.7%
School population; (EMQ):
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Croatia (2011) 7.5% any NSP; Latvia (2011) (15-16 years) 11% Spice
NPS using popul.; Czech (N=151; aged 15-34) (Mravčík, 2012):
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80% used in the past year, 7% in the past month
1/3 used mephedron or other catinone
10-15% used synthetic cannabinoids
Past year Regular use 2%, Repeated use 51%, Once 47%
Obtaining from Friends 74%, the rest from shops and online shops
3. What main sources of NPS supply
the drug market?
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Until around 10 years ago, most NPS appearing on the European
drug scene were produced in underground laboratories or sourced
from diverted medicines and sold directly on the illicit drug market.
•
Today, NPS are produced in China and India, imported to Europe
in bulk, than processed, packaged, and sold as 'legal highs'.
Sometimes sold on the streets as substitutes for
meth/amphetamine, ecstasy, heroin or cocaine (EMCDDA
website).
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Recently, ‘legal highs’ business moved to
• → 2010 / 2011 Amsterdam shops
• → 2012 / 2013 internet, under-the-counter
3. How to monitor the drug market?
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Mistery shopping
Physical monitoring of the shop
Talking to sellers and customers
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Web scraping - indexing information from the web using
technology similar to that used by standard search engines
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From the unstructured content (XY stores and products on the web for
different prices → updated database of shops and substances)
Using ‘compare prices’ approach and other marketing tools
•
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marketing strategy and market behavior
response to law enforcement
• How does it work:
1. Keywords defining shops - web search
2. Coding of the most visited sites → product database
4. What new substances are actually
used?
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Substances obtained and tested from:
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Online shops
Dance scene
Experimenting users
Problem drug users
Testing of:
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the actual drug
drug in the body
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New drugs = unknown metabolites = hard to identify the drug
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In Czech, in cooperation with the Institute of Criminology and
Water Management Research Institute - transfer "laundered
samples"
4. Early Warning System (EMCDDA)
•
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The EWS provides EU Member States with an information exchange
mechanism for reporting on the emergence of new psychoactive
substances.
It is a key element in the European fast-track system for assessing
and responding to new drugs.
•
In 2012, the list of substances reported was dominated by 30
synthetic cannabinoids, which mimic the effects of cannabis.
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Risk assessments of two very different substances in 2012 which
were linked to over 40 deaths in Europe.
The first, 4-MA (a stimulant) was being sold as amphetamine on the
illicit market, while the second, 5-IT (reported to have both
stimulant and hallucinogenic effects)
In March 2013, the Council of the EU decided to subject 4-MA to
controls across the EU.
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5. What are the risks of NPS?
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Information from EWS
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We (users themselves) do not know what is being actually used.
Therefore, to assess the effects of the drugs is difficult.
Even sellers do not inform / know the risks
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What was done is:
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Analyses of Discussion forums on the internet (e.g. Erowid)
Qualitative research (with individuals identified via internet)
How NSD user reduces risk:
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at first enjoys the smaller amounts of the drug
effort not to combine with other substances
searching for information on the substance
Drug policy implications
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Since 04/2011: 33 new illegal drugs & Amsterdam shop owner
put in jail for promoting drug use
proposal to amend Act No. 167/1998: New drugs banned by the
Government Order, but not as Law Attachments = acceleration
process
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Germany classifies suspicious substance on a temporary list, from
which it passes to a permanent ban only if a substance proves as
hazardous within a year
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introduce risk-assesment to the Czech legislation, so the costs of
the ban do not outweigh its benefits
Implications for prevention
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Clear message: 'Legal‘ not meaning without risk and possible
harm
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Step 1
• Educate the providers
• Produce education and prevention materials
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Step 2
Include NPS in prevention education
• The messages must be age sensitive
• Provide information - Raise awareness
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but be aware of risk of being instructive!
Boys seem to be more vulnerable than girls (gender sensitive info)
Improve Refusal skills
To conclude
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There is a lot of unknown.
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However, this should not stop us from doing anything.
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A lot can be done if we take quick and efficient actions on the
policy, prevention and treatment levels.
Thank you for your attention

E-mail:
[email protected]