Report from the Commission on the assessment of the functioning of Council Decision 2005/387/JHA on the information exchange, risk assessment and control of new psychoactive substances

New psychoactive substances are becoming widely available at an unprecedented pace. The speed at which they appear and the way they can be distributed challenge the established procedures for monitoring, responding to and controlling the use of new psychoactive substances, according to a 2010 report of Europol and the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA).

Council Decision 2005/387/JHA on the information exchange, risk assessment and control of new psychoactive substances adopted on 10 May 2005 set up an EU-wide system for dealing with these new narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances entering the European market. It involves the exchange of information (early warning system) between Member States on such substances, their risk assessment and, if necessary, their submission to control measures and criminal sanctions across the EU.

The present assessment is a follow-up to the recommendation of the EU Drugs Action Plan 2009-2012, which requires the Commission to ‘assess the functioning’ of this Council Decision ‘and amend it, if necessary’. The Commission has done this with the support of EMCDDA, its Scientific Committee and Europol. Member States provided input through a survey.

The assessment highlights the fact that the market for new psychoactive substances has changed dramatically in the past three years: there has been a significant increase in the number of substances detected, their variety and the diversification of their distribution channels. It concludes that the Council Decision is not an adequate instrument to address these new challenges. The Commission therefore invites the European Parliament and the Council to contribute to a debate on ways of reinforcing the EU legislation, with a view to possible Commission legislative proposals in 2012.

EUR-Lex: COM(2011)430: Follow the progress of this document through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2011:430:FIN

ESO: Background information: EMCDDA–Europol 2010 annual report on the implementation of Council Decision 2005/387/JHA http://www.europeansources.info/record/emcdda-europol-2010-annual-report-on-the-implementation-of-council-decision-2005-387-jha/

European Commission: SEC(2011)912: Commission staff working paper http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=SEC:2011:0912:FIN:EN:PDF

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