Key findings
- There has been a rapid growth in the availability of new (and emerging) psychoactive substances (NPS) on the Australian market, warranting ongoing monitoring and investigation.
- NPS often mimic the effects of existing illicit substances.
- In 2016, less than 1% of the general population reported using synthetic cannabis in the previous 12 months.
- In 2016, only 0.3% of the Australian general population reported using other NPS such as ‘meow meow’ and N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT).
- People who use psychostimulant drugs such as ecstasy are more likely to use NPS than the general population.
New (and emerging) psychoactive substances (NPS) may be defined as substances, whether in a pure form or preparation, where most are not controlled by international drug control conventions but which may pose a public health threat [1]. NPS often mimic the effects of existing illicit substances such as cannabis, ecstasy (MDMA) and hallucinogens, or have chemical structures very similar to those substances [2]. There are several main types of NPS, including:
- synthetic cannabinoids—designed to mimic or produce similar effects to cannabis.
- phenethylamines—a class of drugs with psychoactive and stimulant effects and includes amphetamine, methamphetamine and MDMA (ecstasy). NPS phenethylamines include the ‘2C series’, the NBOMe series, PMMA and benzodifurans.
- tryptamines—psychoactive hallucinogens found in plants, fungi and animals.
- piperazines—typically described as ‘failed pharmaceuticals’ and are frequently sold as ecstasy due to their central nervous system stimulant properties.
- synthetic cathinones—have an amphetamine-type analogue including mephedrone (‘meow meow’) and methylone.
- novel benzodiazepines—are less well categorised and understood than other NPS [3].
Other names given to this group of drugs include research chemicals, analogues, legal highs, herbal highs, bath salts, novel psychoactive substances and synthetic drugs [4].
Availability
There is evidence that NPS are now available in over 100 countries around the world.
In Australia, the NPS market is highly dynamic with fluctuations in the types of NPS available [5]. The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) [6] recently reported:
- A 58.0% decrease in the number of NPS border seizures selected for further analysis, from 433 in 2015–16 to 182 in 2016–17.
- A 56.5% decrease in the weight of analysed NPS border seizures, from 204.7 kilograms in 2015–16 to 89.0 kilograms in 2016–17.
- Since 2008–09, cathinone-type substances have accounted for the highest proportion of the total number of analysed NPS seizures (44.5% in 2016–17).
- By number, the second most commonly detected substance in 2016–17 was amphetamine-type substances (27.5%), followed by tryptamine-type substances (13.7%), other substances (12.6%) and synthetic cannabinoids (1.6%).
- By weight, amphetamine-type substances accounted for 78.5% of the weight of analysed seizures in 2016–17, followed by tryptamine-type substances (12.5%), cathinone-type substances (8.1%), other substances (0.7%) and synthetic cannabinoids (0.1%) [6].
Consumption
Synthetic cannabinoids
The use of synthetic cannabinoids in Australia is low.
- The NDSHS showed that in 2016 although lifetime use of the synthetic cannabis more than doubled among the general population between 2013 and 2016 (from 1.3% to 2.8%), recent use dropped dramatically from 1.2% to 0.3% (Figure NPS1).
- Regular psychostimulant users interviewed as part of the EDRS reported infrequent use of synthetic cannabinoids in 2017, with 2% of the sample reporting use in the past six months [7] (Table S2.56).
- The low reported use of synthetic cannabinoids has been attributed to the fact that these synthetic cannabinoids do not produce the kinds of effects that people are seeking.
- Similarly, the use of NPS among secondary school students is also uncommon. The Australian Secondary School Survey showed the majority of students (98%) reported they had never used synthetic cannabis or any new synthetic drug in the last 12 months [8] (Table S2.57).
- The National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program no longer monitors the 2 synthetic cannabinoids JWH-018 or JWH-073, as they had not been detected since monitoring commenced in August 2016. While methylone and mephedrone (synthetic stimulants) continue to be detected, consumption was mostly below levels at which it could be reliably quantified [9].
Other NPS
The use of other NPS among the Australian general population is similarly low [2].
- The NDSHS showed that in 2016 lifetime use of other psychoactive substances such as ‘meow meow’ and N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) increased over this period (from 0.4% to 1.0%) but recent use remained stable at about 0.3% in 2016 (Table S2.31).
- The consumption of NPS among regular psychostimulant users is disproportionately high, with 33% reporting recent use of any NPS in the past six months (Table S2.56). However, NPS are used infrequently with most reporting use on a median of 1–2 days in the six months prior [7].