VIENNA, Austria – October 2020: The Current NPS Threats Vol. III presents recent analysis from the UNODC Early Warning Advisory (EWA) on NPS by combining data from NPS identified in seized material with toxicology information from post-mortem, clinical, and driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) cases. This allows to identify key developments regarding health threats associated with the use of NPS. Most of the toxicology cases analysed involved poly-drug use cases. Benzodiazepine-type NPS continue to feature strongly in DUID and post-mortem cases in some countries.

Information from the EWA contributes to identifying the most harmful NPS as an important step towards prioritizing NPS for international review in the framework of the International Drug Control Conventions. Flualprazolam, an NPS that featured in both DUID and post-mortem cases, has been included in Schedule IV of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971 at the 63rd session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), in March 2020. 

For further information please see:

Current NPS Threats Volume III

March 2020 CND Scheduling decisions