SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica - December 2018: The annual report of the Costa Rican Drug Observatory on the national situation of drugs and related activities revealed that new psychoactive substances were identified by the forensic laboratories in Costa Rica during the year 2017. 25B-NBOMe, N-benzylpiperazine, ketamine, mescaline, DOC and the synthetic cannabinoids JWH-018 and JWH-073, were listed among the reported substances.

The report further highlights the challenge of detecting NPS for the national police force, as not all police bodies are equipped with devices that are able to identify NPS in the field. Consequently, the Costa Rican Drug Observatory emphasizes the importance of capacity building and adequate equipment for the national police, together with a stronger focus on prevention activities among the user groups of NPS.

So far, a total of 22 different NPS have been reported to the UNODC Early Warning Advisory on NPS by Costa Rica, mostly piperazines (7 substances), followed by phenethylamines (6) and synthetic cannabinoids (4).

Source: Laboratorio de Ciencas Forenses del Poder Judicial.

 

 For more information, please see:
https://www.icd.go.cr/portalicd/images/docs/uid/informes/SituacionNac/CR_Situacion_Nacional_Drogas_ActivConexas_2017.pdf