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U.N. Sees Soaring Use of Synthetic Drugs and Psychoactive Highs

There has been an “unprecedented expansion” of the use of synthetic drugs like ketamine, amphetamines, and artificial cannabis, and they're taking up a larger share of the market, according to a new United Nations report. Legal highs and new psychoactive substances (NPS) are now being used more widely than heroin and cocaine, but there's been a particular boom in synthetic cannabinoids. The U.N. reports that the number of legal weed-simulating substances has doubled from 60 in mid-2012 to 110 in 2013.

 

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European Parliament committee backs Commission proposal

The proposals to strengthen the European Union’s ability to respond to new psychoactive substances used as alternatives to illicit drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy (IP/13/837 and MEMO/13/790) made important progress today. They were backed in the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) (51 in favour, 4 against). The new rules proposed by the Commission will equip the EU with a quicker and smarter system to help protect more than 2 million people in Europe who take pills or powders sold to them as ‘legal’.

 

Four Drugs under microscop of EU

Four new drugs go under the microscope in the wake of rising health concerns

Lisbon, 29.01.2014. Europe has responded to rising concern over the use of four new drugs by formally requesting a scientific investigation into the health and social risks of the substances. The decision was communicated to the EU drugs agency (EMCDDA) by the Council of the EU today, in line with a legal procedure designed to respond to potentially harmful new psychoactive drugs in the EU.

Ministers look at new solution to legal highs (UK)


Home Office to rethink psychoactive drug policy, which has been described as 'panic and then permanently ban'

 

 

Ministers are considering whether to give up on banning new psychoactive drugs known as "legal highs" and instead regulate the booming trade in the substances which are emerging on the market at the rate of more than one a week.

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