WHO: World Health Organization recommends five NPS and one medicine for scheduling
Vienna, Austria – January 2025: Since its establishment in 2013, the UNODC Early Warning Advisory (EWA) on new psychoactive substances (NPS) regularly provides scientific information to Member States and the World Health Organization (WHO) for the identification of the most harmful, prevalent, and persistent NPS in support of review processes for national and international control. The WHO has announced the scheduling recommendations on psychoactive substances reviewed at the 47th Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD) held from 14 to 18 October 2024. In total, seven new psychoactive substances and one medicine were critically reviewed by the ECDD. Four synthetic opioids, all nitazenes, one “semi-synthetic” cannabinoid and one medicine were recommended for scheduling as listed below. One phencyclidine-type substance (3-hydroxy-phencyclidine) as well as one synthetic cathinone (N-ethylheptedrone) were recommended to be kept under surveillance.
Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 (Schedule I):
1. N-pyrrolidino protonitazene (protonitazepyne)
2. N-pyrrolidino metonitazene (metonitazepyne)
3. Etonitazepipne (N-piperidinyl etonitazene)
4. N-desethyl isotonitazene (norisotonitazene)
Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971 (Schedule II):
1. Hexahydrocannabinol (HHC)
Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971 (Schedule IV):
1. Carisoprodol
Substances to be kept under surveillance:
1. N-ethylheptedrone (N-ethylnorheptedrone)
2. 3-hydroxy-phencyclidine (3-OH-PCP)
Hexahydrocannabinol (HHC), a “semi-synthetic” cannabinoid, was first reported to the UNODC EWA in 2022 and since then, 36 countries and territories have reported the substance. So far, no toxicological cases identifying hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) have been reported to the toxicology portal of the UNODC EWA.
Etonitazepipne (N-piperidinyl etonitazene) was reported for the first time in 2021 and since then the substance has been reported by six countries and territories. The other three nitazenes were reported for the first time in 2023. N-pyrrolidino protonitazene (protonitazepyne) was reported by eleven countries and territories, N-desethyl isotonitazene (norisotonitazene) by ten countries and territories and N-pyrrolidino metonitazene (metonitazepyne) by seven countries and territories.
In addition, 46 toxicology cases have been reported to the toxicology portal of the UNODC EWA so far, in which these four nitazenes have been associated with harms including in post-mortem (85 per cent) and clinical admissions cases (15 per cent).
3-hydroxy-phencyclidine (3-OH-PCP) and N-ethylheptedrone (N-ethylnorheptedrone), two substances that were recommended to be kept under surveillance, were reported for the first time in 2013 and 2019 respectively. 3-hydroxy-phencyclidine (3-OH-PCP) was reported to UNODC EWA by 28 countries and territories and N-ethylheptedrone (N-ethylnorheptedrone) by 31 countries and territories.
While 3-hydroxy-phencyclidine (3-OH-PCP) was identified in six toxicology cases (all clinical admissions), N-ethylheptedrone (N-ethylnorheptedrone) was identified in only one toxicology case (post-mortem) and reported to the toxicology portal of the UNODC EWA.
Information from UNODC EWA was used to support the scientific review of these substances at the 47th Expert Committee on Drug Dependence of the WHO.
For more information, please see:
Forty-seventh Expert Committee on Drug Dependence
Forty-seventh Expert Committee on Drug Dependence documents (see Letter to the UN Secretary-General: Recommendations of the 47th ECDD and Annex 1: 47th WHO ECDD summary assessments and recommendations).
EWA newsclip: November 2024 – UNODC EWA: New evolution of “semi-synthetic” cannabinoids
