VIENNA, Austria - June 2016: The World Drug Report 2016 provides a global overview of major developments in drug markets, trafficking routes, and the health impact of drug use for opiates, cocaine, cannabis, amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) and new psychoactive substances (NPS). In line with the outcome document, adopted by the Member States at the special session of the General Assembly on the world drug problem, the report calls for greater efforts to enhance forensic capacity and monitoring systems for NPS, more research to understand the risks to users who consume such products and better communicate those risks, and more work to analyse the wide range of national legislative responses. Major findings related to NPS include:
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The range of drugs on the market has probably never been wider with 644 NPS reported by 102 countries worldwide.
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Emerging NPS groups such as synthetic opioids (e.g. fentanyl derivatives) cause a major threat to public health.
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NPS are frequently sold in products containing several compounds, including internationally controlled drugs, pharmaceutical products and adulterants.
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“Ecstasy” tablets containing new psychoactive substances (NPS) are linked to fatalities.
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There is an increase in use of NPS in prisons and injecting use of NPS with stimulant effects is linked to high-risk (sexual) behaviour, associated with an elevated risk of infection of HIV and other blood-borne diseases.
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Global NPS seizures in 2014 were dominated by synthetic cannabinoids with 32 tons; seizures of synthetic cathinones (1.3 tons) tripled over 2013.
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The amount of ketamine seized globally increased, driven by East and South-East Asia. Over 100 clandestine ketamine laboratories were dismantled in China in 2014.
For further information please see:
http://www.unodc.org/wdr2016/
www.unodc.org/doc/wdr2016/WORLD_DRUG_REPORT_2016_web.pdf