New drugs marketed as "legal highs" and "designer drugs" are emerging fast and in great numbers, and authorities are struggling to keep up, a new UN report warned today.
So-called new psychoactive substances (NPS), often sold under harmless names like spice, bath salts or herbal incense, posed a serious health risk although they were legal, the UN office on drugs and crimes (UNODC) said in its annual World Drug Report.
"Sold openly, including via the Internet, NPS, which have not been tested for safety, can be far more dangerous than traditional drugs," it warned.
From 166 known NPS in 2009, the number rose to 251 in 2012, according to the UN body.
These drugs, which could be synthetic or plant-based and could be easily altered to create new ones, were now outpacing efforts to control or ban them, it said.
"The international drug control system is floundering for the first time under the speed and creativity of the phenomenon," the UN deplored.
The perception that the drugs were safe also compounded the problem, it said, adding that the long-term effects were unknown.
In the United States, NPS were the most used drugs among students, after cannabis. In Europe, NPS use was on the rise, even as cannabis use has gone down and consumption of other drugs has remained steady.
New psychoactive substances were also present in Asia and Africa and with an ever-growing number of drugs to control, national health, customs and police authorities were stretched thin, requiring more international cooperation to detect them, the UNODC appealed.
Worldwide, cannabis was still the most commonly used illegal drug with 3.9 percent of the global population aged 15-64 using it, the report said.
In 60 percent of countries however, prescription drugs like sedatives and tranquilisers were among the top three misused substances, which was "of particular concern," it added.
