March GLOBAL 23 S MART PDATE U VOLUME An expanding synthetic drugs market − Implications for precursor control EN Research 2020 GLOBAL SMART UPDATE About the SMART Update Content Synthetic drugs constitute one of the most significant An expanding synthetic drugs market − drug problems worldwide. After cannabis and opi- Implications for precursor control 3 oids, amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) are the most widely used drugs across the globe, with use levels A. INTRODUCTION 3 often exceeding those of heroin and/or cocaine. Along B. KEY TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS with ATS, the continued growth of the new psycho- IN PRECURSOR CHEMICALS 4 active substances (NPS) market over the last years has become a policy challenge and a major interna- The use of non-scheduled and tional concern. A growing interplay between these “designer” (pre-)precursors 4 new drugs and traditional illicit drug markets is being observed, and trends on the synthetic drugs market Precursor trends in the manufacture evolve quickly each year. of amphetamine and methamphetamine 5 The UNODC Global Synthetics Monitoring: Analyses, Precursor trends in the manufacture Reporting and Trends (SMART) Programme enhances of fentanyl 7 the capacity of Member States in priority regions to Challenges and options for adapting generate, manage, analyse, report and use synthetic precursor control regimes 9 drugs information to design effective policy and pro- gramme interventions. Launched in September 2008, C. ENHANCING PRECURSOR CONTROL – the Global SMART Programme provides capacity build- PRESENT REALITY 9 ing to laboratory personnel, law enforcement and research officers in the Pacific, East and South-East Understanding clandestine manufacture – Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America Role of drug characterisation and impurity and the Caribbean; and regularly reviews the global profiling 9 ATS and NPS situation. Its main products include online New legal approaches to precursor controls 10 drug data collection, situation assessment reports, regional assessments and the UNODC Early Warning Expanding partnerships with the Advisory (EWA) on NPS. The EWA is a webportal that private sector – Voluntary public-private provides access to information on NPS in the range of partnerships 10 subject area including global monitoring, risk commu- nication, chemical analysis, toxicology, pharmacology, International and regional cooperation 12 emergence and legislative response. (available at: D. PRECURSOR CONTROL BEYOND 2020 12 www.unodc.org/nps and www.unodc.org/tox). The Global SMART Update (GSU) series is published twice a year in English, Spanish and Russian. It pro- vides information on emerging patterns and trends of the global synthetic drugs market in a concise format*. Past issues have covered topics such as the ATS market – 10 years after the 2009 Plan of Action, understanding the global opioid crisis, the dominance of methamphetamine in the synthetic drugs market, the role of NPS in the synthetic drugs market and non- medical use of benzodiazepines. Electronic copies of the Global SMART Updates and other publications are available at: www.unodc.org/unodc/en/scientists/ publicationssmart.html. * The information and data contained within this report are from the Annual Report Questionnaire (ARQ) submitted by Member States to UNODC, the UNODC Early Warning Advisory (EWA) on NPS, offi- cial Government reports, press releases, scientific journals or incidents confirmed by UNODC Field Offices. This report has not been formally edited. The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of UNODC or contributory organizations and neither do they imply any endorsement. Suggested citation: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2019. An expanding synthetic drugs market – Implica- tions for precursor control. Global SMART Update, Volume 23. 2 Volume 23 An expanding synthetic drugs market − Implications for precursor control A. INTRODUCTION Within two short decades, the This expansion has radically trans- However, this has been the case global synthetic drug market has formed the drug market; from since the advent of synthetic drugs gathered tremendous momen- one that revolved around plant- decades ago and does not provide tum all across the world. Over the based drugs to a multifaceted drug sufficient explanation for the -cur period of 1998 to 2017, the growth market posing new challenges to rent rapid expansion. Because of in seizures of synthetic drugs have drug policy. their “chemical” origin, precursor outpaced that of traditional plant- chemicals4 are the key ingredients based substances with the biggest Analysis of the available infor- for synthetic drugs, and it seems proportional increases seen in mation suggests that the current obvious that changes in the way seizures of synthetic new psycho- market expansion is largely supply synthetic drugs are manufactured active substances (‘NPS’), followed driven. Rather than reacting to under clandestine conditions and by amphetamine-type stimulants growing demand for drugs, traf- the range of precursors used in that (‘ATS’) .1 The estimated global fickers seem to be able to produce process deserve a closer look. number of ATS users has grown large quantities of synthetic drugs significantly from 30.2 million users with relatively low costs and ship This issue of the Global SMART in the 1990s to approximately 50 large amounts within and across Update discusses the challenges million users in 2017.2 Regions such regions. In part, the unprecedented for precursor control against the as North America, West, Central growth in the global synthetic drug backdrop of the expanding global and North Africa are also experi- market may have been fuelled by synthetic drug market. It presents encing on-going crises relating to relatively low barriers of entry to key developments in precursor the widespread non-medical use of illicit manufacture. Without geo- chemicals used in the clandestine pharmaceutical and illicitly-manu- graphic constraints such as the manufacture of synthetic drugs factured synthetic opioids.3 need to have access to suitable land and outlines possible approaches and climate, clandestine manu- and response options which can facturing facilities for synthetic enhance the present international drugs of varying scales have spread and the individual states’ precursor to every region of the world. control regimes. 1 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), World Drug Report 2019: Global Overview of Drug Demand and Supply (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.19.XI.8 (Booklet 2)), pp. 45-46. 2 Ibid, pp. 12-13; United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention, Global Illicit Drug Trends 1999 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E99.XI.16), pp. 95. 3 UNODC, World Drug Report 2019: Depres- sants (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.19.XI.8 (Booklet 3)), pp. 13-30. 4 The term “precursor” is used to indicate any of the substances listed in Table I or Table II of the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psycho- tropic Substances of 1988, except where the context requires a different expression. Such substances are often described as precursors or essential chemicals, depending on their princi- pal chemical properties. The plenipotentiary conference that adopted the 1988 Convention did not use any one term to describe such substances. Instead, the expression “substances frequently used in the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances” was introduced in the 1988 Convention. It has become common practice, however, to refer to all such substances simply as “pre- cursors”; although that term is not technically correct, it is used in this publication for the sake of brevity. 3 GLOBAL SMART UPDATE B. KEY TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS IN PRECURSOR CHEMICALS Fig. 1: Changes to Tables of the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychoactive Substances of 1988 over time 1988 2000 2010 2017 Table I: Table I: Reschedule from Table I: 6 substances Norephedrine Table II to I: N-Phenethyl-4-piperidone Table II: Phenylacetic acid (NPP), 4-Anilino-N-phenethyl- 6 substances piperidine (ANPP) Table I: Reschedule from Table I: Table I: N-Acetylanthranilic acid, Isosa- Table II to I: alpha-Phenylaceto- 3,4 -MDP-2-P methyl frole, 3,4-Methylenedioxyphe- Potassium acetonitrile (APAAN) glycidate (“PMK glycidate”), nyl-2-propanone (3,4-MDP-2-P), permanganate, 3,4-MDP-2-P methyl glycidic Piperonal, Safrole Acetic anhydride acid (“PMK glycidic acid”), alpha-Phenylacetoacetamide Table II: (APAA) Hydrochloric acid, Methyl ethyl ketone, Potassium permanga- nate, Sulphuric acid, Toluene 1992 2001 2014 2019 Source: United Nations, Tables of the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988, as at 19 November tion, diversification and scale in the illicit manufacture of narcotic 2019 and UNODC, Commissions Resolu- drug manufacturing operations.7 drugs and psychotropic substances 5 tions & Decisions Database. This proliferation in the use of non- saw two significant overlapping scheduled precursors chemicals is developments: the switching from scheduled to non-scheduled pre- In the Political Declaration and reflected in the increasing pace cursors and the use of “designer” Plan of Action of 2009, the inter- and number of precursor chemi- precursors (see Figure 2). Apart national community acknowledged cals that were scheduled in recent from international