Abstract
This monograph focuses on the ""New Psychotropic Substances"" (further NPS); their rise represents the most recent development of the global drug scene. These compounds are not controlled by the UN Drug Treaties (1961, 1971, 1988), and very often they are not controlled by the legislation of individual countries either.
Most of them are substances that were created by a slight change to the chemical structure of known and controlled drugs; by keeping the pharmacophore that is decisive for pharmacological effects, the NPS have a very similar or identical psychotropic profile. As such, these substances pose a similar and in some cases - because there is no relevant information and experience of their use - more serious threat to the health of their users.
NPS represent a complex challenge for all actors relevant to the implementation of drug policies; it is difficult to create an effective control mechanism, as the market supply changes extremely quickly in terms of its spectrum. This also creates difficulties for the work of health and harm reduction services for drug users, as often they have neither relevant information nor experience of approaching NPS users and working with them.
Because of the above (but not only the above), the dissemination of information on NPS to all drug policy players is a sine qua non for successfully and effectively tackling NPS-related problems. This is what we are seeking to achieve in this monograph.
We look into the aspects of the legislative frameworks for the control of NPS, into the problem of assessing the risks of such substances, into the early warning systems that aim for the fast exchange of information, into the prevalence and patterns of the use of NPS in different populations, and, last but not least, into methods of working with NPS users. In this monograph, we also put forward a proposal for the standardised risk assessment of NPS, and for methods for the work of helping professions with NPS users.