Govt bans 58 new psychoactive substances

The government in a decree imposed ban on production, import, storage, sales and supply of 58 new psychoactive substances, said an official press release on Thursday.

Possession or use of the substances, however, is not punishable. The new substances are added to a list of psychoactive substances prohibited in the consumer market. The updated government decree will enter into force on May 15, 2017.

The proposal to put the substances under national control was drawn up by the Finnish Medicines Agency (Fimea) after it had identified in early 2017 39 new potentially harmful or dangerous substances in cooperation with the police and the customs department. These substances only have recreational use.

The remaining 19 substances are positional isomers of the aforementioned substances, and they may have harmful or dangerous health effects in recreational use.

The new psychoactive substances can be harmful to health and have adverse effects on mental health and social functioning. While prohibiting a substance in the consumer market does not prevent its use, it can prevent its spread and recreational use. Banning the psychoactive substances may slow down and even prevent their spread to new user groups and young people in particular. It also makes controlling the substances easier.

Most of the substances banned are synthetic cannabinoids or cathinones, the most common groups of psychoactive substances. Synthetic cannabinoids are often more psychoactive than cannabis, and their use carries significant risks. Measuring an accurate dose may be difficult as synthetic cannabinoids are available as pure powders and herbal blends. Synthetic cathinones are related to active ingredients in the khat drug. The best known synthetic cathinone is MDPV which is classified as a narcotic.

The newly banned psychoactive substances also include substances which are particularly risky to use, since their effects are unknown. As the variety of available substances increases, the risks and dangers of their use also grow. For example, the risk of poisoning rises and treatment becomes more difficult when the effects and dosing of the substances are not known.

Not all the newly banned substances are yet commonly used in Finland or proven to be very dangerous. They are, however, spreading quickly in the EU, and it is important to bring them under control.

The substances have been reported to the Early Warning System (EWS) of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA). Substances are reported to the EWS when there is evidence of their misuse and harmful effects in Europe. Last year, 66 new psychoactive substances were reported to the EWS, which was less than the number of such substances reported in the previous year. Online marketing and free movement bring these substances easily even to Finland.