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| Global rise in new 'legal highs' - UN World Drug Report | Global rise in new 'legal highs' - UN World Drug Report |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Governments everywhere are struggling to cope with an increase in the number of new drugs known as "legal highs", according to a UN report. | Governments everywhere are struggling to cope with an increase in the number of new drugs known as "legal highs", according to a UN report. |
| The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) says the use of traditional drugs such as heroin and cocaine is globally stable. | The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) says the use of traditional drugs such as heroin and cocaine is globally stable. |
| But new synthetic substances are being constantly spread via the internet, the office's latest World Drug Report says. | But new synthetic substances are being constantly spread via the internet, the office's latest World Drug Report says. |
| It stresses that these seemingly legal drugs can have deadly effects. | It stresses that these seemingly legal drugs can have deadly effects. |
| These "new psychoactive substances" (NPS) have not been tested for safety and pose "unforeseen public health challenges", the report notes. | These "new psychoactive substances" (NPS) have not been tested for safety and pose "unforeseen public health challenges", the report notes. |
| "Sold openly, including via the internet, NPS... can be far more dangerous than traditional drugs. | "Sold openly, including via the internet, NPS... can be far more dangerous than traditional drugs. |
| "Street names, such as spice, meow meow and bath salts mislead young people into believing that they are indulging in low-risk fun," the report adds. | "Street names, such as spice, meow meow and bath salts mislead young people into believing that they are indulging in low-risk fun," the report adds. |
| Lucrative market | Lucrative market |
| New substances are being identified all the time and the authorities are struggling to keep up, according to the UNODC. | |
| "While law enforcement lags behind, criminals have been quick to tap into this lucrative market," the report says. | "While law enforcement lags behind, criminals have been quick to tap into this lucrative market," the report says. |
| It focuses on drugs that appear to originate in Asia but are marketed globally online. | It focuses on drugs that appear to originate in Asia but are marketed globally online. |
| The biggest market is the US, where use of these substances among youth "appears to be more than twice as widespread as in the European Union", it says. | The biggest market is the US, where use of these substances among youth "appears to be more than twice as widespread as in the European Union", it says. |
| Within the EU, Britain is a particularly receptive market, the UNODC says, with almost 700,000 Britons aged between 15 and 24 having experimented with legal highs. | Within the EU, Britain is a particularly receptive market, the UNODC says, with almost 700,000 Britons aged between 15 and 24 having experimented with legal highs. |
| The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction reported earlier this year that it had detected 73 new substances last year, compared with 49 in 2011. | The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction reported earlier this year that it had detected 73 new substances last year, compared with 49 in 2011. |