BRASILIA, Brazil – May 2018: From 15-17 May 2018, the Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency, ANVISA (Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária), hosted the Second Regional Meeting on New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) in the Western Hemisphere in Brasilia, in Brazil, coordinated by the United Nations Offices on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Laboratory and Scientific Section (LSS). More than 70 experts from over 20 countries in the Western Hemisphere (Americas), as well as from Japan, Poland, the United Kingdom, and regional and international organizations (including EMCDDA, Interpol, WHO, OAS/CICAD, WCO, and WCO RILO for Asia and the Pacific) attended the event and discussed NPS trends, challenges in identifying and detecting NPS, legislative and regulatory responses, and early warning systems.
The meeting demonstrated the growing awareness of challenges posed by NPS, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean. The great diversity among countries in the region in terms of capacity to detect, identify and monitor NPS and in measures taken to respond to the threat posed by NPS to public health will require continued close collaboration between countries and support from regional and international organizations.
For more information, please see:
ANVISA news release: Agência sedia reunião sobre novas drogas psicoativas (Spanish)