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| More than 280 'legal highs' now on European drug experts' radar | More than 280 'legal highs' now on European drug experts' radar |
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| More than 280 potentially harmful "legal highs" and other new psychoactive synthetic drugs are now being monitored by European experts, representing what they describe as a fundamental shift in the market in illicit drugs. | More than 280 potentially harmful "legal highs" and other new psychoactive synthetic drugs are now being monitored by European experts, representing what they describe as a fundamental shift in the market in illicit drugs. |
| The EU's drug agency, in a joint report with Europol on new drugs entering the market, says 73 have become available in Britain and across Europe, and adds that there is now a firmly established thriving legal highs business with low risks and high profits operating through more than 690 online sites and specialised bricks-and-mortar head shops. | The EU's drug agency, in a joint report with Europol on new drugs entering the market, says 73 have become available in Britain and across Europe, and adds that there is now a firmly established thriving legal highs business with low risks and high profits operating through more than 690 online sites and specialised bricks-and-mortar head shops. |
| The report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) in Lisbon, Portugal, says the internet has created new routes for supply and use, and that the market is now less "structured around plant-based substances shipped over long distances to consumer markets in Europe". | The report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) in Lisbon, Portugal, says the internet has created new routes for supply and use, and that the market is now less "structured around plant-based substances shipped over long distances to consumer markets in Europe". |
| It is published alongside the centre's 2013 annual survey in drug trends, and says there have been more positive developments in the use of more established drugs – with fewer new users of heroin, less injecting of drugs, and declining use of cannabis and cocaine across Europe. But the agencies add that any optimism must be tempered by concerns that youth unemployment and cuts in drug treatment services could lead to a re-emergence of old problems. | It is published alongside the centre's 2013 annual survey in drug trends, and says there have been more positive developments in the use of more established drugs – with fewer new users of heroin, less injecting of drugs, and declining use of cannabis and cocaine across Europe. But the agencies add that any optimism must be tempered by concerns that youth unemployment and cuts in drug treatment services could lead to a re-emergence of old problems. |
| The drug experts say Britain still has the highest levels of cocaine consumption in Europe, and the largest number of heroin users in substitution treatment – 177,093 at the last count. | The drug experts say Britain still has the highest levels of cocaine consumption in Europe, and the largest number of heroin users in substitution treatment – 177,093 at the last count. |
| The EU report says that while 31% of adults in Britain say they have tried cannabis at some point, only 10.5% have smoked any in the past 12 months. Cannabis use among 15- and 16-year-olds in Britain has declined in recent years to about 21% of the age group and is ranked 10th out of 30 European countries. The drug experts say that despite the rise of new legal highs a large and relatively robust market remains for cannabis, albeit in a larger number of forms including more potent strains of herbal cannabis. | The EU report says that while 31% of adults in Britain say they have tried cannabis at some point, only 10.5% have smoked any in the past 12 months. Cannabis use among 15- and 16-year-olds in Britain has declined in recent years to about 21% of the age group and is ranked 10th out of 30 European countries. The drug experts say that despite the rise of new legal highs a large and relatively robust market remains for cannabis, albeit in a larger number of forms including more potent strains of herbal cannabis. |
| Cocaine consumption in Britain has also declined, with 4.2% of adults saying they had used it in the previous 12 months. | Cocaine consumption in Britain has also declined, with 4.2% of adults saying they had used it in the previous 12 months. |
| The EU drug experts say they are encouraged that robust drug policies and record levels of treatment have resulted in the use of heroin, cocaine and cannabis waning in recent years. But they add that a quarter – 85 million – of adults in Europe, and a third of UK adults have used an illicit drug and that, by historical standards, drug use in Europe remains high. | The EU drug experts say they are encouraged that robust drug policies and record levels of treatment have resulted in the use of heroin, cocaine and cannabis waning in recent years. But they add that a quarter – 85 million – of adults in Europe, and a third of UK adults have used an illicit drug and that, by historical standards, drug use in Europe remains high. |
| They are also concerned that this limited progress is being offset by the relentless supply of new drugs. The number of new psychoactive substances being monitored by the EU drug agency has exploded from 24 officially identified in 2009 to 73 notified for the first time in 2012 through its early warning system. | They are also concerned that this limited progress is being offset by the relentless supply of new drugs. The number of new psychoactive substances being monitored by the EU drug agency has exploded from 24 officially identified in 2009 to 73 notified for the first time in 2012 through its early warning system. |
| The joint report with Europol says that by the end of 2012 more than 280 new substances were being monitored and this upward trend has continued at the rate of more than one a week so far this year. More than half of the total reported since 2005 have appeared in the past two years. They are often sold openly as "legal highs", as "plant food" or "research chemicals" and marketed with names like Benzo Fury and Black Mamba, but others are sold illicitly. The drug experts say insufficient capacity for screening freight and postal packages make it very difficult to prevent new drugs entering Europe. | The joint report with Europol says that by the end of 2012 more than 280 new substances were being monitored and this upward trend has continued at the rate of more than one a week so far this year. More than half of the total reported since 2005 have appeared in the past two years. They are often sold openly as "legal highs", as "plant food" or "research chemicals" and marketed with names like Benzo Fury and Black Mamba, but others are sold illicitly. The drug experts say insufficient capacity for screening freight and postal packages make it very difficult to prevent new drugs entering Europe. |
| The drug experts say the market is dominated by new illicit drugs, synthesised in laboratories in China and India, which mirror the effects of the most popular illicit drugs such as cannabis and ecstasy (MDMA). But there are worrying signs that an increasing number are synthesised from more obscure chemical groups, making it harder to speculate on the long-term health impacts of their use. Some have already been linked to deaths. | The drug experts say the market is dominated by new illicit drugs, synthesised in laboratories in China and India, which mirror the effects of the most popular illicit drugs such as cannabis and ecstasy (MDMA). But there are worrying signs that an increasing number are synthesised from more obscure chemical groups, making it harder to speculate on the long-term health impacts of their use. Some have already been linked to deaths. |
| The EU drug agency and Europol say that the number of online shops selling the new drugs more than doubled from 314 in January 2011 to 693 in 2012. Last year the list of 73 substances was dominated by 30 synthetic cannabinoids, which mimic the effects of cannabis. | The EU drug agency and Europol say that the number of online shops selling the new drugs more than doubled from 314 in January 2011 to 693 in 2012. Last year the list of 73 substances was dominated by 30 synthetic cannabinoids, which mimic the effects of cannabis. |
| But the drug experts say they also identified two different substances last year which were linked to more than 40 deaths in Europe: "The first, 4-MA (a stimulant) was being sold as amphetamine on the illicit market, while the second, 5-IT (reported to have both a stimulant and hallucinogenic effects), was being sold both on the legal high and the illicit market," says the agency's report. It issued a number of public health alerts about both substances. | But the drug experts say they also identified two different substances last year which were linked to more than 40 deaths in Europe: "The first, 4-MA (a stimulant) was being sold as amphetamine on the illicit market, while the second, 5-IT (reported to have both a stimulant and hallucinogenic effects), was being sold both on the legal high and the illicit market," says the agency's report. It issued a number of public health alerts about both substances. |
| The director of EMCDDA, Wolfgang Götz, said: "Signs that current policies have found traction in some important areas must be viewed in the light of a drugs problem that never stands still. We will need to continue to adjust our current practices if they are to remain relevant to emerging trends and patterns of use in both new drugs and old." He said new policies were needed to meet a drug problem that was in a state of flux and arose from a dynamic and rapidly evolving drug market. | The director of EMCDDA, Wolfgang Götz, said: "Signs that current policies have found traction in some important areas must be viewed in the light of a drugs problem that never stands still. We will need to continue to adjust our current practices if they are to remain relevant to emerging trends and patterns of use in both new drugs and old." He said new policies were needed to meet a drug problem that was in a state of flux and arose from a dynamic and rapidly evolving drug market. |
| Emcdda says the proliferation of the new psychoactive substances has provoked a range of responses from governments across Europe. Some have used consumer safety or medicines legislation to control them, some use existing laws, while others have devised new laws to tackle them. | Emcdda says the proliferation of the new psychoactive substances has provoked a range of responses from governments across Europe. Some have used consumer safety or medicines legislation to control them, some use existing laws, while others have devised new laws to tackle them. |
| The report says that although there is no agreement on approach there is a general move to using the threat of prison to deter suppliers while choosing not to use criminal sanctions for those possessing a new substance for personal use. In Britain the temporary banning orders that are being used, pending a full assessment of new illicit drugs, do not make it illegal to possess them but it does include swingeing penalties for those who import or supply them. | The report says that although there is no agreement on approach there is a general move to using the threat of prison to deter suppliers while choosing not to use criminal sanctions for those possessing a new substance for personal use. In Britain the temporary banning orders that are being used, pending a full assessment of new illicit drugs, do not make it illegal to possess them but it does include swingeing penalties for those who import or supply them. |
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