Assessing the ‘added value’ of European policy on new psychoactive substances

Abstract

BackgroundNew psychoactive substances (NPS) are reported to be on the rise throughout Europe, and are often presented as the latest challenge facing drug-policy makers. At the European level, legislation on NPS has existed since 1998. Several evaluations, however, have suggested that this legislation is not effective and the European Commission has submitted a new proposal on NPS seeking to extend its powers in this area. MethodsThis article critically evaluates the new proposal against its predecessor's three main criticisms: (i) being unable to tackle the large number of NPS because of lengthy European legislative approaches, (ii) being reactive rather than proactive, and (iii) lacking options for regulatory and control measures. Results and conclusionIn determining whether or not European interventions can bring added value to what is being done at the national level, it finds that, while the new proposal is more efficient, it is not necessarily more effective, and that there is a disappointing focus on legal frameworks at the expense of research and harm reduction.