Vienna, Austria – 22 January 2026: Since its establishment in 2013, the UNODC Early Warning Advisory (EWA) on new psychoactive substances (NPS) regularly provides scientific information to Member States and the World Health Organization (WHO) for the identification of the most harmful, prevalent, and persistent NPS in support of review processes for national and international control. 

The WHO has announced the scheduling recommendations on three new psychoactive substances reviewed at the 48th Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD) of the WHO held from 20 to 22 October 2025. Two nitazenes and one synthetic cannabinoid were recommended for scheduling as listed below. WHO noted that these substances are clandestinely manufactured, of risk to public health and society and with no recognized therapeutic use[1]. The voting on the ECDD recommendations will take place during the 69th session of the CND (taking place 9-13 March 2026 in Vienna).

Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 (Schedule I):

1. N-Pyrrolidino isotonitazene (Isotonitazepyne)

2. N-Desethyl etonitazene

Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971 (Schedule II): 

3. MDMB-FUBINACA

N-Pyrrolidino isotonitazene (Isotonitazepyne) was reported to the UNODC EWA  for the first time in 2024 and since then has been reported by eleven countries. This nitazene has been identified in three post-mortem cases.

N-Desethyl etonitazene was reported to UNODC EWA in 2021 for the first time and has now been detected in ten countries. It has been reported in one post-mortem case to UNODC EWA.

MDMB-FUBINACA, a synthetic cannabinoid, was first reported to the UNODC EWA in 2015. Since then, 26 countries have reported the substance. In 2024, the number of reporter countries increased four-fold, from 4 in 2023 to 17 in 2024. To date, 112 toxicology cases involving MDMB-FUBINACA  were reported to the toxicology portal of the UNODC EWA. The majority were drug use cases from 2024/5.

For more information, please see: Forty-eight Expert Committee on Drug Dependence

Forty-eight Expert Committee on Drug Dependence documents (see Letter to the UN Secretary-General: Recommendations of the 48th ECDD and 48th WHO ECDD summary assessments and recommendations). 

UNODC, “August 2025 - WHO: Three new psychoactive substances and coca leaf under critical review by 48th Expert Committee on Drug Dependence”, news clip, 18 August 2025.


----------------------

[1] World Health Organization, Letter to the UN Secretary-General: Recommendations of the 48th ECDD, 27 November 2025.