Assessing the ‘added value’ of European policy on new psychoactive substances

Chatwin, Caroline

doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2016.11.002

Cited by 17 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Measham and Newcombe (2016) have thus revised the characterisation of the relationship between NPS development and policy change from 'cat and mouse' to 'hare and hounds', whereby the speed of policy change itself becomes one of the important drivers of future NPS innovations. This means that a 'modest and localised' (Reuter, 2011, p. 4) facet of the overall drug problem has led to fundamental changes in the way that we control drugs at both the national and the international level (the EU is currently proposing changes to European drug control (Chatwin, 2017)).…”

Section: Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

Not particularly special: critiquing ‘NPS’ as a category of drugs

Potter

Chatwin

2017

Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy

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Novel psychoactive substances (NPS) have been a dominant feature of drug discourse for many years now and, in academic, policy and public discourse, have become established as a newand by implication, distinctcategory of drugs. We argue that this understanding of NPS is fundamentally problematic. Differences within the category are obscured, as are similarities between NPS and more established categories of drugs. Focusing on NPS as something new, different or particularly special is misleading and counterproductive and can have serious consequences in terms of understanding the bigger picture in relation to illegal drugs more generally. This has led to overestimations of the size of the NPS problem, obfuscation of the common underlying causes of dependent drug use and the implementation of significant and problematic policy changes. Furthermore, a failure to see the rise in NPS as just one of a number of emerging trends in contemporary drug scenes, alongside the development of online markets or the rise in domestic drug production operations, for example, impairs our ability to understand the wider societal, cultural and theoretical underpinnings of drug use. NPS are not particularly special: treating them as such can have dangerous and far-reaching consequences. ARTICLE HISTORY

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Section: Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

Not particularly special: critiquing ‘NPS’ as a category of drugs

Potter

Chatwin

2017

Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy

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“…The regulation divided NPS into three different categories: low risk, moderate risk, and severe risk; depending on its risk category, a NPS would flow freely through the internal market, face a temporary ban, or be permanently restricted. It would therefore set a mechanism for information exchange on risk assessment, establishing rules for the movement of NPS in the EU internal market[42,43]. However, this regulation was criticized based on the less prominent role given to the building of evidence-based policy, while the introduction of stricter control measures did not ensure any positive effect on NPS market and harm reduction[43,44].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It would therefore set a mechanism for information exchange on risk assessment, establishing rules for the movement of NPS in the EU internal market[42,43]. However, this regulation was criticized based on the less prominent role given to the building of evidence-based policy, while the introduction of stricter control measures did not ensure any positive effect on NPS market and harm reduction[43,44]. The most recent document concerning NPS was a proposal written by the European Commission for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 1920/2006 in regard to information exchange, early warning systems and risk assessment procedures on NPS[45].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mapping novel psychoactive substances policy in the EU: The case of Portugal, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Poland, the United Kingdom and Sweden

et al. 2019

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Introduction The rapid rise in trade and use of NPS and the lack of information concerning their potential toxicity pose serious challenges to public health authorities across the world. Policy measures towards NPS taken so far have a special focus on their legal status, while the implementation of a public health strategy seems to be still missing. The aim of this study is to perform a general assessment of NPS-related policy (including regulatory measures and public health strategies) implemented by six European countries: Portugal, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Poland, the United Kingdom and Sweden. Methods Six EU countries were included in this scoping review study. Drug policies (including legal responses and public health strategies) were analysed. UNODC drug policy classification system was used as a benchmark, while path dependency approach was used for data analysis; a net of inter-dependencies between international, EU and national policies was highlighted. Results and discussion The countries included in this study can be placed in a wide spectrum according to their formulation of drug policy, from Portugal and the UK that have specific legal responses to NPS but have differently focused on harm reduction strategies at one end, to Sweden whose drug-free society goal is not translated into a specific regulation of NPS at the other end. Conclusion The findings of the study reveal limited development towards harmonisation of national drug policies–particularly with regard to NPS. To tackle the challenge presented by NPS, EU Member states have formulated legislation and public health strategies independently. National approaches to NPS are therefore in line with their already existing drug policies, reflecting cultural values towards substance abuse and national political interests, while the homogenization at an international level has so far mostly been focused on law enforcement and drugs use preventive strategies.

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“…In the last 10 years, new psychoactive substances (NPS) have become a growing problem. Chatwin et al define NPS as “chemical compounds that have been modified and developed to mimic the effects of drugs which are already prohibited.” Currently, the European Union (EU) Early Warning System, coordinated by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), is monitoring over 620 NPS, with one‐sixth of them belonging to the chemical class of phenethylamines . Prominent substances belonging to this class are 2C‐type phenethylamines, which are 2,5‐dimethoxyphenethylamines, substituted at the 4‐position, typically with halogens or alkyl groups, and also 2,5‐dimethoxy‐ N‐ benzylphenethylamines, so‐called NBOMes which have emerged in recent years .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

In vitro phase I metabolism of three phenethylamines 25D‐NBOMe, 25E‐NBOMe and 25N‐NBOMe using microsomal and microbial models

Grafinger

Stahl

Wilke

et al. 2018

Drug Testing and Analysis

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Numerous 2,5-dimethoxy-N-benzylphenethylamines (NBOMe), carrying a variety of lipophilic substituents at the 4-position, are potent agonists at 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT ) receptors and show hallucinogenic effects. The present study investigated the metabolism of 25D-NBOMe, 25E-NBOMe, and 25N-NBOMe using the microsomal model of pooled human liver microsomes (pHLM) and the microbial model of the fungi Cunninghamella elegans (C. elegans). Identification of metabolites was performed using liquid chromatography-high resolution-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-HR-MS/MS) with a quadrupole time-of-flight (QqToF) instrument. In total, 36 25D-NBOMe phase I metabolites, 26 25E-NBOMe phase I metabolites and 24 25N-NBOMe phase I metabolites were detected and identified in pHLM. Furthermore, 14 metabolites of 25D-NBOMe, 11 25E-NBOMe metabolites, and nine 25N-NBOMe metabolites could be found in C. elegans. The main biotransformation steps observed were oxidative deamination, oxidative N-dealkylation also in combination with hydroxylation, oxidative O-demethylation possibly combined with hydroxylation, oxidation of secondary alcohols, mono- and dihydroxylation, oxidation of primary alcohols, and carboxylation of primary alcohols. Additionally, oxidative di-O-demethylation for 25E-NBOMe and reduction of the aromatic nitro group and N-acetylation of the primary aromatic amine for 25N-NBOMe took place. The resulting 25N-NBOMe metabolites were unique for NBOMe compounds. For all NBOMes investigated, the corresponding 2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine (2C-X) metabolite was detected. This study reports for the first time 25X-NBOMe N-oxide metabolites and hydroxylamine metabolites, which were identified for 25D-NBOMe and 25N-NBOMe and all three investigated NBOMes, respectively. C. elegans was capable of generating all main biotransformation steps observed in pHLM and might therefore be an interesting model for further studies of new psychoactive substances (NPS) metabolism.

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Assessing the ‘added value’ of European policy on new psychoactive substances

Cited by 17 publications

References 22 publications

Not particularly special: critiquing ‘NPS’ as a category of drugs

Not particularly special: critiquing ‘NPS’ as a category of drugs

Mapping novel psychoactive substances policy in the EU: The case of Portugal, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Poland, the United Kingdom and Sweden

In vitro phase I metabolism of three phenethylamines 25D‐NBOMe, 25E‐NBOMe and 25N‐NBOMe using microsomal and microbial models

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