Synthetic drugs gain popularity

Synthetic drugs, legal highs and party drugs are becoming a greater concern in Europe as more people start to experiment with them, with almost 350 new psychoactive substances (NPS) having been identified.

The UN’s Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has produced a report detailing the rapid growth in this new drug market. It describes the “unprecedented global expansion” of synthetic drugs and the growing number of people who are admitted to hospital after taking them.

Many countries that are traditionally associated with narcotics, such as Iran, and some West African countries have recently become major suppliers of methamphetamine.

Designer drugs/NPS are no longer restricted to a niche market. They used to be favoured in some parts of the club scene but have now spread to all parts of society.

There are three reasons for their dramatic rise in popularity: they are legal and so appeal to people who enjoy drugs but do not wish to break the law; they are considered safer than class A and class B controlled substances; and new psychoactive substances are easily purchased.

As there are no international controls on designer drugs and it is legal to sell them and to buy them, people can order them online; therefore, users do not have to put themselves at greater risk by dealing with drug dealers.

Many of the drugs are designed to provide an effect similar to that of cannabis or ecstasy, and there are thought to be 60 different synthetic cannabinoids alone.

It is currently very difficult to control designer drugs legally because they are synthetic. Manufactures are constantly altering the ingredients so that they are legally a different substance; as soon as one drug is banned, another replaces it.