Continued

D. Tryptamines

Tryptamines are psychedelic drugs, meaning they can affect all the senses, altering a person's thinking, sense of time and emotions.

They can produce hallucinations and are found in plants, fungi and animals. The most common tryptamine is psilocybin.

E. Piperazines

Due to their stimulant properties piperazines are often sold as MDMA. They are commonly available as pills, capsules or powder and usually swallowed. Piperazine were originally developed as antidepressants, however due to their similarity to amphetamines, this was halted due to their potential for non-prescribed use.

Some of the more commonly used piperazines are 1-benzylpiperazine (BZP) and trifuoromethylphenylpiperazine (TFMPP). When these two drugs are mixed they have similar effects to MDMA.

F. Novel benzodiazepines

In recent years, several new psychoactive substances (NPS) belonging to the benzodiazepine class have also emerged.

Novel benzodiazepines include substances that were tested but not approved as medicines, or illicitly manufactured substances that differ from the structure of existing benzodiazepines. Some of the initial drugs from this class include:

• diclazepam
• flubromazepam
• pyrazolam

G. Fentanyl analogs

A very potent synthetic narcotic called fentanyl is mostly used to lessen the suffering of people with terminal conditions or chronic pain. The medication has been marketed as a patch or lozenge since the 1990s for optimizing the delivery of time-released medications to enhance efficiency.

Among the above groups of NPS, synthetic cannabinoids and cathinones are the most prevalent and alarming in developing countries.

Potential threats of NPS

NPS are spreading at an incredible rate, endangering public health and complicating drug policy-making. The negative health impacts and social harms of NPS are frequently poorly understood, which makes prevention and treatment extremely difficult. To combat this new drug issue, monitoring, information sharing, and risk awareness are required.