Global Smart Update
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14 September VOLUME GLOBAL SMART UPDATE GLOBAL SMART UPDATE Special Segment Legal responses to NPS: Multiple 20132015 approaches to a multi-faceted problem About the SMART Update The threat of illicitly used psychoactive synthetic drugs The GSU reports various synthetic drug information is one of the most significant drug problems world- such as: significant or unusual drug or precursor sei- wide. After cannabis, amphetamine-type stimulants zures; new manufacturing, transit and destinations lo- (ATS) are the second most widely used drugs across cations; methods and chemicals used for clandestine the globe, with use levels often exceeding those manufacture; new trafficking groups or routes; of heroin and/or cocaine. Along with ATS, the changes in legislation to address the problem continued growth of the new psychoactive of synthetic drugs; emerging drugs or user substances (NPS) market over the last years groups; and health implications related to has become a policy challenge and a major their use.* international concern. A growing interplay between these new drugs and traditional il- licit drug markets is being observed. By August In this issue 2015, the emergence of NPS had been reported Each issue of the Update contains a special coverage from 96 countries and territories. Trends on the syn- and thematic segments. The special segment of the thetic drug market evolve quickly each year. current issue analyses the legislative responses taken by the international community to address the chal- The UNODC Global Synthetics Monitoring: Analyses, lenge of NPS in view of protecting public health. It re- Reporting and Trends (SMART) Programme enhances views existing legislation to control NPS and explores the capacity of Member States in priority regions to how countries have introduced new legislation to ad- generate, manage, analyse, report and use synthetic dress this problem. A brief overview is provided on the drug information to design effective policy and pro- diverse regional patterns of NPS emergence, which is gramme interventions. Launched in September 2008, also reflected at the national level, and partly explains the Global SMART Programme provides capacity why countries have adapted their legislative frame- building to laboratory personnel, law enforce- works in different ways to respond to NPS. The ment and research officers in the Pacific, East use of measures such as individual listing, ge- and South-East Asia, South Asia, the Near neric and analogue legislation is discussed and Middle East, Africa and Latin America; as well as recent innovative approaches spe- and regularly reviews the global ATS and cifically designed to address NPS. NPS situation. Other features of the UNODC Global SMART Programme are online data The thematic segments present concrete ex- collection, situation reports and regional as- amples of legislative responses towards control- sessments. The SMART Early Warning Advisory web- ling NPS at the global, regional and national level. It portal offers regular updates on NPS, including trend focuses on the legislation countries have implement- data on emergence and persistence, chemical data on ed over the past 18 months in Oceania, Asia, Africa, NPS, supporting documentation on laboratory analy- Europe and the Americas to address the threat of sis and national legislative responses (available at: NPS. The GSU also covers the latest developments https://www.unodc.org/NPS). with NPS control under the international drug control system, in particular the decision of the Commission The Global SMART Update (GSU) is designed to pro- on Narcotic Drugs in March 2015 to place 10 NPS un- vide regular brief reporting on emerging patterns and der international control. trends of the global synthetic drug situation. Given the speed at which changes in the ATS and NPS mar- Previous issues highlighted the increasing dimen- kets occur, it is especially important to have a sion of ATS trafficking from Africa to East and simple sustainable mechanism for frequent South-East Asia; the ATS situation in South information sharing from different parts of Asia; new psychoactive substances and the the world. The Global SMART Update is pub- changing faces of illicit ATS manufacture; the lished twice a year and is available in English spread of NPS across the globe; the changing and Spanish. Electronic copies of the SMART nature of “ecstasy”; global patterns and re- Updates and other publications are available gional differences in methamphetamine man- at: https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/scientists/ ufacture and precursors trends; and synthetic canna- publications-smart.html. binoids: key facts about the largest group of NPS. *The information and data contained within this report are from official Government reports, press releases, scientific journals or incidents confirmed by UNODC Field Offices. Additional or updated information from previously reported incidents may also be included where appropriate. An asterisk (*) indicates that information is preliminary as it stems from ‘open sources’ where UNODC is waiting for official confirmation. 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: UNODC, Global SMART Update Volume 14, September 2015. 2 Legal responses to NPS: Multiple approaches to a multi-faceted problem Fig. 1: Number of NPS reported, by groups and Background regions, 2008-2015 600600 The emergence of new psychoactive substances 1 493493 (NPS) is a global phenomenon. NPS that have the 500500 potential to pose serious risks to public health and safety continue to be sold on the synthetic drugs mar- 400400 ket as “legal” alternatives to internationally controlled 294 294 drugs. Often marketed as “designer drugs”, “legal 300300 244244 highs”, “herbal highs”, “research or intermediate chemicals”, “laboratory reagents” and frequently la- 200200 128 128 belled as “not for human consumption”, NPS try to by- 96 96 100100 pass both international and national laws that aim to 11 protect public health and safety. Many countries have 00 experienced the rapid emergence of a large number AfricaAfrica AsiaAsia EuropeEurope NorthNorth OceaniaOceania AmericasAmericas America (excl. Canada of different NPS. Some are sold openly in stores, oth- America (excluding Tryptamines Tryptamines and the USA) ers can be ordered online and are delivered by mail Canada services. In response to this unique situation, which SyntheticSynthetic cathinones cathinones Synthetic cannabinoids and the approaches do governments use to establish an ap- Synthetic cannabinoids Plant-basedPlant-based substances substances USA) propriate legal framework, bearing in mind their com- PiperazinesPiperazines mitment to protect public health and without unduly PhenethylaminesPhenethylamines restricting scientific research and legitimate industrial OtherOther substances substances and medical applications? How is existing legislation KetamineKetamine & Phencyclidine-type& Phencyclidine-type substances substances on drug control being used as a means of controlling AminoindanesAminoindanes NPS? Which new types of legislation have countries explored to address NPS? How has the international Source: UNODC Early Warning Advisory on NPS, July 2015. community responded to the threat of NPS? Note: In this figure, “North America” refers to Canada and the United States Legal responses at the international level Diverse regional patterns of NPS emergence Within the framework of article 32 of the Single Con- By July 2015, 96 countries and territories had reported vention on Narcotic Drugs and article 23 of the Con- over 540 NPS to UNODC, far exceeding the 234 sub- vention on Psychotropic Substances, the World stances currently controlled under the International Health Organization (WHO) Expert Committee on Drug Conventions By far the largest variety of NPS Drug Dependence assessed the risks of 22 NPS4 at its have been identified in Europe, followed by North 36th meeting held in June 2014 and recommended America6. However, there is no homogeneity in the 7 changes to the scope of control of 11 substances for appearance of NPS groups across different regions. the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND). Following For instance, synthetic cannabinoids, the largest and these recommendations, the CND placed 10 NPS5 most dynamic group of NPS (34 per cent of the total under international control at the 58th Session of the number of NPS reported worldwide), constitutes the CND held in March 2015. largest group in North America at 31 per cent, Asia at 44 per cent, Europe at 36 per cent and Oceania at 24 per cent, whereas in the Americas, excluding Canada 1 NPS are substances of abuse either in a pure form or a preparation, that are not controlled by the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs or the and the United States, phenethylamines account for 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, but which may pose a public the largest group of NPS (at 29 per cent). This pattern health threat”; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), may change over time. In Europe, in 2014, 31 syn- The Challenge of New Psychoactive Substances, Vienna, March 2013. 2 Art. 3 para. 1, 3 and 5 of the United Nations Single Convention on Nar- thetic cathinones were reported for the first time, the cotic Drugs of 1961. largest group in that year, followed by 30 synthetic 3 Art. 2, para. 1, 4 and 6 of the United Nations Convention