AMA wants new approaches to combat synthetic and injectable drugs

Responding to the health and safety threat posed by the abuse of new designer drugs that are synthesized and marketed to circumvent drug laws, the American Medical Association (AMA) today voted to support a comprehensive, multidisciplinary effort to close a gap in the nation’s ability to identify, regulate, and mitigate the dangers posed by new psychoactive substances.

New psychoactive substances – or NPS - mimic the effects of a wide range of substances, including prescription opioids, cannabinoids, stimulants, hallucinogens, and central nervous system depressants. NPS are sold as “legal highs” and alternatives to established drugs of abuse. NPS have been increasingly associated with hospital emergencies, acute adverse health consequences, and drug-induced death.