Brendan Hughes

Khat use and monitoring drug use in Europe: the current situation and issues for the future.

AIM OF THE STUDY To review the information available on the use of khat (Catha edulis) in the EU, and to assess the future use of this drug and related substances. MATERIAL AND METHODS Khat is not controlled by international law and it has not been systematically included in the list of illicit drugs monitored in the EU. The current principal source of information on khat use in Europe is the early-warning system set up to monitor new and emerging drugs. Further information was obtained from official national reports to the EMCDDA and from the scientific literature. RESULTS Across Europe, the use of khat is low. Khat use is limited to countries with immigrant communities from countries where khat use is common (such as Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya). Information on the prevalence of khat use in the general population is scarce. Data on seizures provide an insight on the situation, though these may be difficult to interpret. The most recent estimates suggest that Europe accounts for about 40% of the khat seized worldwide. CONCLUSION The shortage of data on the use and patterns of use of khat in Europe does not allow an evaluation of the needs for health and social interventions in communities in which the drug is used. But seizures of the plant are increasing in the EU, and more synthetic derivatives of the pharmacologically active ingredients of the plant (cathine and cathinone) are appearing on the market. Some of these, like mephedrone, have significant potential for future diffusion, and are likely to play a greater role on the European drug scene of the future.

Regulatory approaches to new psychoactive substances (NPS) in the European Union.

As in New Zealand, three European countries (Ireland, Poland, Romania) have chosen to reverse the established control model, using effect-based definitions; the supply of any unregulated psychoactive substance that meets certain criteria is banned unless specifically permitted.

The “Spice” Trade: A Profit Estimation of EU Online Vendors of Herbal Smoking Mixtures

There are currently over 170 synthetic cannabinoids monitored by the European Union Early Warning System, making it the single largest group of new psychoactive substances, often marketed as “legal” replacements to cannabis. The Internet, coupled with cheap and efficient shipping, has allowed countries like China and India to become the chemical and pharmaceutical wholesalers and retailers to the world. These companies ship synthetic cannabinoids to Europe, where they are processed and packaged into a range of products, smokable herbal mixtures being the most common one. The herbal mixtures, often referred to as “Spice,” are then sold via online shops on the surface web, using sophisticated marketing techniques, potentially generating high profits. We decided to use available data on the synthetic cannabinoid 5F-MDMB-PINACA to estimate those profits. After making an inventory of the required materials and the typical retail price, we made a lower and upper bound profit estimation. We found that the return on costs varies between 3.3 and 24.4 after the first production and rises to a range between 5.5 and 42.5. By applying a basic economic model, our estimations show that profits in this type of business are substantial.

Gesetzliche Kontrolle psychoaktiver Substanzen in Europa

Potentere psychoaktive Substanzen wurden aufgrund ihrer schadhaften Wirkung fur die offentliche Gesundheit gesetzlich kontrolliert. Jene, die nur in bestimmten Gegenden der Welt vorzufinden waren, wurden durch internationale Abkommen kontrolliert und ihr Gebrauch auf medizinische und wissenschaftliche Zwecke beschrankt. Die Abkommen definierten zudem ein System zur sorgfaltigen Abschatzung von Nutzen und Risiken neuer Substanzen sowie ihrer entsprechenden Regulierung. Diese wird auf nationaler Ebene durch strafrechtliche Sanktionen durchgesetzt. Das etablierte System befindet sich angesichts der Globalisierung und des Internets unter Druck, da gegenwartig zwei neue Substanzen pro Woche festgestellt werden. Die Lander suchen deshalb nach neuen Wegen, um diese schnell und ohne den Nachweis des Vorliegens einer Gefahrdung der offentlichen Gesundheit regulieren zu konnen. Wahrend sich in einigen Landern der Begriff ‚psychoaktiv‘ zu einem Synonym fur ‚schadlich‘ entwickelt, wird in anderen wiederum der Verkauf von Substanzen mit geringem gesundheitlichen Risiko zu nicht-medizinischen Zwecken gestattet.

Chapter 10 The Netherlands, Portugal and the Czech Republic: Political Perceptions and Legal Realities

In Europe, the Netherlands, Portugal and the Czech Republic are the countries increasingly portrayed as having the most ‘progressive’, ‘liberal’, or even ‘radical’ drugs policies in Europe. In a post-United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) 2016 period and with the 2019 UN target date approaching, the EU and these countries within are bound to play a key role in the definition of an international drug policy for the next decade. This chapter analyses how the perceptions of these countries match against the drugs legislations and how they fit into the overall EU drug policy approach.

Inconsistencies in the assumptions linking punitive sanctions and use of cannabis and new psychoactive substances in Europe

The level of drug use in the population is an ongoing topic of concern for policymakers, and regular adjustments to the penalty for this might reflect how much sanctions are viewed politically as appropriate to deter use. It is therefore interesting that not only is it difficult to observe the impact of such adjustments on cannabis prevalence, but also policymakers addressing new challenges do not always penalize use or personal possession......