Implementing decision 2015/1875 - Subjecting 4-iodo-2, 5-dimethoxy-N-(2-methoxybenzyl)phenethylamine (25I-NBOMe), 3, 4-dichloro-N-[[1-(dimethylamino)cyclohexyl]methyl]benzamide (AH-7921), 3, 4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) and 2-(3-methoxyphenyl)-2-(ethylamino)cyclohexanone (methoxetamine) to control measures - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 275/38

Risk Assessment Reports on the new psychoactive substances 4-iodo-2,5-dimethoxy-N-(2-methoxybenzyl)phenethylamine (25I-NBOMe), 3,4-dichloro-N-[[1-(dimethylamino)cyclohexyl]methyl]benzamide (AH-7921), 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) and 2-(3-methoxyphenyl)-2-(ethylamino)cyclohexanone (methoxetamine) were drawn up in accordance with Decision 2005/387/JHA by a special session of the extended Scientific Committee of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), and were subsequently submitted to the Commission and to the Council on 23 April 2014.

25I-NBOMe, AH-7921, MDPV and methoxetamine had not been under assessment at the United Nations' level by the time the risk assessment was requested at Union level, but they were evaluated in June 2014 by the Expert Committee on Drug Dependence of the World Health Organization.

25I-NBOMe, AH-7921, MDPV and methoxetamine have no established or acknowledged human or veterinary medical use. Apart from their use in analytical reference materials, in scientific research investigating their chemistry, pharmacology and toxicology as a result of their emergence on the drug market and, in the case of 25I-NBOMe, also in the field of neurochemistry, there is no indication that they are being used for other purposes.

25I-NBOMe is a potent synthetic derivative of 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenethylamine (2C-I), a classical serotonergic hallucinogen, which was subject to risk assessment and to control measures and criminal sanctions at Union level from 2003 by virtue of Council Decision 2003/847/JHA (2).

The specific physical effects of 25I-NBOMe are difficult to determine because there are no published studies assessing its acute and chronic toxicity, its psychological and behavioural effects, and dependence potential, and because of the limited information and data available. Clinical observations of individuals who have used this substance suggest that it has hallucinogenic effects and has the potential for inducing severe agitation, confusion, intense auditory and visual hallucinations, aggression, violent accidents and self-induced trauma.

There have been four deaths associated with 25I-NBOMe registered in three Member States. Severe toxicity associated with its use has been reported in four Member States, which notified 32 non-fatal intoxications. If this new psychoactive substance were to become more widely available and used, the implications for individual and public health could be significant. There is no information available on the social risks associated with 25I-NBOMe.

Twenty-two Member States and Norway have reported to the EMCDDA and to the European Police Office (Europol) that they reported detection of 25I-NBOMe. No prevalence data is available on the use of 25I-NBOMe, but the limited information that exists suggests that it may be consumed in a wide range of settings, such as at home, in bars, in...