New psychoactive substances in Europe
12-03-2015
(9.3.2015, LISBON/VIENNA) New psychoactive substances (NPS or ‘new drugs’) were detected in the European Union last year at the rate of around two per week, according to an update issued today by the EU drugs agency (EMCDDA)(1). A total of 101 new substances were reported to the EU Early Warning System (EWS) in 2014 (up from 81 in 2013), continuing an upward trend in substances notified in a single year (2). This brings the total number of substances being monitored by the agency to over 450, with more than half of that figure being identified in the last three years alone