Designer drugs are finding their way to underground markets more quickly and in growing numbers according to an annual report published Wednesday by the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) in Vienna.
The INCB says that a large number of designer drugs—slightly modified controlled drugs designed to bypass existing control systems—are being abused.
In Europe, 16 new designer drugs are being monitored, while Japan is trying to cope with 51.
Mixtures of herbal and synthetic substances with similar psychoactive effects to cannabis are increasingly available over the Internet and in specialized retail outlets, the report states.
The report also highlighted other trends including that 90 percent of licit drugs are consumed by just 10 percent of the world’s population, mostly in the West, including the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and some European countries. Western Europe has the world’s largest heroin market.
