VIENNA, Austria – December 2015: At the reconvened fifty-eighth session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), convened from 9 to 11 December, WHO announced the scheduling recommendations on new psychoactive substances that will be presented in the upcoming Report of the 37th Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD), which met from 16 to 20 November 2015. The ECDD’s main task is to carry out medical and scientific evaluations of the abuse liability of dependence-producing drugs falling within the terms of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances. It then makes recommendations to the CND on changes in the scope of control measures. At the November 2015 ECDD meeting, the following new psychoactive substances were critically reviewed and recommended for scheduling:
Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961), as amended by the 1972 Protocol
- Acetylfentanyl: Schedule I and Schedule IV of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961), as amended by the 1972 Protocol.
- MT-45: Schedule I of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961), as amended by the 1972 Protocol.
Convention on Psychotropic Substances (1971)
- para-Methoxymethylamphetamine (PMMA): Schedule I of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances (1971).
- α-Pyrrolidinovalerophenone (α-PVP): Schedule II of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances (1971).
- para-Methyl-4-methylaminorex (4,4’-DMAR): Schedule II of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances (1971).
- Methoxetamine (MXE):Schedule II of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances (1971).
- Phenazepam:Schedule IV of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances (1971).
In addition to the 7 above-mentioned NPS, the ECDD recommended Etizolam (INN) for critical review (this substance was reviewed for the first time in 1989) and the surveillance of 4-fluoroamphetamine (4-FA). An update on ketamine was presented and the Committee maintained its standing recommendation of 2014 that ketamine should not be placed under international control.
For further information please see:
https://www.unodc.org/documents/commissions/CND/CND_Sessions/CND_58Reconvened/ECN72015_CRP10_e_V1508746.pdf
https://www.unodc.org/LSS/Announcement/Details/110f73d6-8691-47f3-98e7-5684037f3ab5