NPS are proliferating at an unprecedented rate and posing unforeseen public health challenges."Vienna (ANTARA News/Xinhua-OANA) - The proliferation of the emerging new psychoactive substances (NPS), some of which could be legal in some markets, is an alarming drug problem, an UN drug report revealed on Wednesday.
"NPS are proliferating at an unprecedented rate and posing unforeseen public health challenges," United Nation Office on Drugs (UNODC) and Crime said in a statement.
The NPS, reported by member states to United Nation Office on Drugs and Crime from end-2009 to mid-2012, rose from 166 to 251. This marks a rapid increase of more than 50 per cent and for the first time exceeded 234 substances under international control, according to the 2013 world drug report.
The new drugs could present more challenges to society than traditional drugs like cocaine, thanks to the variety of the new substances developed to avoid existing drug control measures. The so-called "legal highs" provide an "umbrella" encouraging the sale and consumption of the new products in the open, the report added.
Yury Fedotov, UNODC chief, urged concerted action to prevent the abuse of the NPS. He admitted, however, controls for the new drugs could not be easily and quickly established since there is likely to be a lag between the existence of a new psychoactive substance and corresponding laws to control it.
(U.C003)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2013
