New designer drugs are popping up in Europe at an unprecedented rate, sometimes on the illicit drug market and sometimes as ‘legal’ alternatives to controlled drugs, according to the latest report by the EU drugs agency (EMCDDA). These substances are often taken by thrill seekers despite the fact that very little is known about their safety. In 2012, the EU Early Warning System (EWS) was alerted to 73 new psychoactive substances (NPSs) compared with 49 in 2011, 41 in 2010 and 24 in 2009. Some of these substances will find their way onto the market, packaged as ‘legal high’ products in shops and online.
‘The trend has been unremittingly upward for about eight years,’ says Ric Treble, scientific adviser at LGC in Teddington, UK, who is involved in identifying legal highs. ‘Novel materials are appearing at an ever-increasing rate and this is likely to continue. It’s an international problem.’
This proliferation has happened suddenly, observes David Nichols, emeritus professor of pharmacology at Purdue University, US, but it may be a temporary spike. ‘Drugmakers trawl through the literature for interesting compounds they can make and play around with, but there are only a finite number of compounds. It’s possible there may not be a whole lot more.’
