“In the view of this author, it is likely that the future drugs of abuse will be synthetics rather than plant products. They will be synthesized from readily available chemicals, may be derivatives of pharmaceuticals, will be very potent, and often very selective in their action. In addition, they will be marketed very cleverly.”
Gary Henderson, Journal of Forensic Science, 1988
Download: Business as usual? A status report on new psychoactive substances (NPS) and ‘club drugs' in the UK. By DrugScope on behalf of the Recovery Partnership (PDF)
Since 2008-2009, there has been a significant increase in interest in, and probable use of, a new breed of synthetic drugs, which can be grouped together under the term New Psychoactive Substances (NPS).
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) defines NPS as “psychoactive drugs which are not prohibited by the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs or by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and which people in the UK are seeking for intoxicant use”. Some definitions, particularly from outside the UK, also include so-called ‘club drugs’ such as ketamine and GHB/GBL that are not included in the UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances.
This brief, status report, encompasses both NPS and ‘club drugs’ and gives an overview of current sector knowledge and experience on these substances, with consideration given to:
- how and why NPS developed;
- what we know (and don’t know) about prevalence and patterns of use;
- early warning systems in place for information sharing;
- enforcement and legislative responses;
- health impacts and drug-related deaths;
- public health information and harm reduction interventions;
- case studies of existing treatment and service-level responses.
The report is intended to be of use to frontline drug and alcohol workers, managers and commissioners, as well as policy makers.
