Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
The Dangers of Psychoactive Substances, Denise J. Burton, Editör, NOVA Science Publishers Inc. , New York, ss.1-21, 2023
Substance addictions,
which have origins in historical times to the present, directly affect the
economy and security of countries as well as public health. Despite
the recognized risks, over 275 million people have used drugs in the last year
according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 2021 World Drug
Report.
While new dangerous
substances have been appearing on the drug market, the international drug
control system is struggling, for the first time, to keep up with the pace of
the phenomenon known as new psychoactive substances (NPS). NPS have become a
worldwide problem, with 136 nations and territories from every continent
reporting at least one or more NPS, in total of 1,124 compounds have been
reported around the world as of 2022. At large, NPS is an umbrella term for
unregulated substances marketed as "legal highs" for alternatives to
restricted or illegal psychoactive substances since the early 2000s. One of the most concerning elements of NPS is that consumers
are unaware of the amount and dosage of the psychoactive chemicals found in
marketed products. Formulation differences, toxic by-products inclusions, cross-contaminations
may occur due to the manufacturing conditions of these substances in clandestine
laboratories. For these reasons, in the literature, NPS have been associated to
a variety of health problems, including non-fatal and fatal intoxications indicating
that NPS can cause more dangerous harms than conventional illegal substances. The rising chemical variety of NPS, as well as their
unprecedented number, makes monitoring and understanding this phenomenon even
more challenging. These
substances, which generally contain more than one synthetic substance together,
are a global threat to public health and their continued change has posed
challenges for analytical chemists, toxicologists and clinicians.
Many substances with
different chemical structures are classified under the definition of NPS.
Synthetic cannabinoids and synthetic cathinones are the ones that most commonly
seized and used among these substances. In this book chapter, the chemical
structures, classifications, short / long term effects and legal status of
synthetic cannabinoids and cathinones will be provided with example cases. In
addition, the conventional indicators and methods used around the world to
monitor the consumption and trafficking of these substances will be discussed
in detail, along with the effectiveness of these measures. Finally, innovative
methods for monitoring the consumption of these substances, their current state
of art and efficiency will also be discussed.