New Psychoactive Substances PDF

NEW PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES NFNF3512  LECTURE OBJECTIVES AT THE END OF THE LECTURE, STUDENTS SHOULD BE ABLE TO DEFINE NPS DESCRIBE THE CLASSIFICATION OF NPS DESCRIBE THE EFFECTS OF NPS ON HUMANS QUESTIONS What are they? How do they work?...

NEW PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES NFNF3512  LECTURE OBJECTIVES AT THE END OF THE LECTURE, STUDENTS SHOULD BE ABLE TO DEFINE NPS DESCRIBE THE CLASSIFICATION OF NPS DESCRIBE THE EFFECTS OF NPS ON HUMANS QUESTIONS What are they? How do they work? What do they do to humans? NPS or also known as “legal highs” can also be described as "research chemicals" are mainly of synthetic origin; openly sold by online-base vendors as unregulated drug alternatives to circumvent the DEFINITION & existing law. INTRODUCTION UNODC definition of NPS- 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 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, but which may pose a public health threat The term “new” does not necessarily refer to new inventions - several NPS were first synthesized decades ago but recently become available on the market. DEFINITION & A new law is now in place which makes any INTRODUCTION 'psychoactive' substance illegal particularly in the UK There's not enough known about many of these drugs - potency, effects on people, or what happens when they're used with other substances or alcohol Some have been linked to poisoning, emergency hospital admissions and, in some cases deaths.  CLASSIFICATION BY CHEMICAL STRUCTURE Source: Zapata et al. 2021. Chemical classification of new psychoactive substances (NPS). Microchemical Journal 163:2021  CLASSIFICATION BY CHEMICAL STRUCTURE Source: Zapata et al. 2021. Chemical classification of new psychoactive substances (NPS). Microchemical Journal 163:2021  CLASSIFICATION BY EFFECTS Source: UNODC Early Warning Advisory on New Psychoactive Substances, 2022.  MAIN EFFECTS The main effects of almost all psychoactive drugs, can be described using four main categories: Stimulants act like amphetamines, cocaine, or ecstasy, in that they can make you feel energised, physically active, fast-thinking, very chatty and euphoric. e.g. methiopropamine, mephedrone, naphyrone  'Downers' or sedatives Act similar to benzodiazepines or GHB in that they can make you feel euphoric, relaxed or sleepy e.g. GBH/GBL, methoxetamine  Psychedelics or hallucinogens Act like LSD, magic mushrooms. They create altered perceptions and can make you hallucinate. They can induce feelings of euphoria, warmth, ‘enlightenment’ and ‘out of body experience’. e.g. NBOMe (N-methoxybenzyl) drugs  Synthetic cannabinoids Act similarly to cannabis. The effects of these are similar to cannabis intoxication: relaxation, altered consciousness, disinhibition, a state of being energised and euphoria. e.g. APINACA, JWH-018  WHAT ARE THE RISKS OF NEW PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES? You can't really be sure of what's in a 'legal high' that you've bought, or been given, or what effect it's likely to have on you or your friends. For many NPS, there has been little or no research into the risks from human consumption. Will have widely different strengths and effects on different people. Data on toxicity cases of NPS are scarce and difficult to identify due to multiple drug use. Can you become addicted? With drugs including legal highs, you can potentially become addicted