The number of New Synthetic Products, substances reproducing the effects of illicit products, remains high despite a decline in 2015. OFDT has more than 450 in Europe.
To meet consumer demands and boost demand, drug traffickers have adopted commercial techniques worthy of professional enterprises. The objective is to create and distribute more attractive products with a cleaner appearance. In this context, the number of New Synthetic Products (NPS), a range of substances reproducing the effects of illicit products (cannabis, amphetamine, cocaine, ecstasy, etc.), remains particularly high despite a decline in 2015.
The last thematic synthesis of the French Observatory of Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT) currently lists 222 substances that have circulated at least once in France since the appearance of the first molecules. And in a press release published on Tuesday, ANPAA (1) indicates that the OFDT has more than 450 NPS in Europe which allow the legal framework to be circumvented.
Indeed, as their chemical composition has not yet been included in the lists of products banned by states, including in France, many of them are in fact legal. The main NPS listed are, for example, phenethylamines and cathinones. These are molecules similar to amphetamine or MDMA. Among these, mephedrone (4-MMC), called “bath salts” is the first to be known. MDPV is the substance most linked to health consequences: directly or indirectly it is linked to 108 deaths).
Prices between 8 and 20 euros
There are also a lot of synthetic cannabinoids. They produce effects similar to cannabis when smoked. They are THC receptor agonists with an affinity that can be 2 to 200 times higher than that of THC itself. 130 synthetic cannabinoids are identified in Europe, including 34 in France. The best known of them were sold under the name “Spice” (“Gold”, “Silver”).
Finally, methoxetamine (MXE) is also very common. Its effects are similar to those related to ketamine but in a more lasting and powerful way. It is a product present in festive settings but at the origin of frequent complications (discomfort, mental or psychiatric disorders, etc.). “Despite its classification in France in August 2013 and then in Europe in September 2014, interest in this substance as well as its availability seems to persist,” deplores the OFDT.
To understand the rise of these illicit drugs, the ANPAA notes that NPS are mainly marketed on the Internet. A familiar act of the modern-day consumer, which stands out radically from the acquisition of products under the hood, in the street. Prices range between 8 and 20 euros per gram, depending on the sites whose number is exploding.
The OFDT distinguishes several profiles of consumers: “those close to the gay party scene,” connoisseurs “, young adults and a young public who occasionally consume drugs”. ” The government plan to fight drugs and addictive behaviors 2013-2017 provides for better identification of NPS, ”concludes the association.
(1) The National Association for Prevention in Alcoholology and Addictology
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