New/emerging psychoactive substances and associated psychopathological consequences

• Published in: Psychological medicine Vol. 51; no. 1; pp. 30 - 42
• Main Authors: Schifano, F., Napoletano, F., Chiappini, S., Guirguis, A., Corkery, J. M., Bonaccorso, S., Ricciardi, A., Scherbaum, N., Vento, A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Cambridge University Press 01.01.2021
• Subjects: Anesthesia; Anxiety; Bipolar disorder; Cannabinoids; Cardiac arrhythmia; Coma; Constipation; Crawling; Delirium; Drug addiction; Drug dosages; Drug withdrawal; Drugs; Fatalities; Hallucinations; Insomnia; Ketamine; Medical personnel; Mental depression; Mental health; Mental health professionals; Narcotics; Nausea; Opioids; Panic attacks; Pharmacodynamics; Pharmacokinetics; Psychedelic drugs; Psychiatry; Psychopathology; Psychosis; Psychotropic drugs; Stimulants; Suicides & suicide attempts; NPS; psychedelics; prescribing drug misuse; Drug-induced psychosis; new psychoactive substances; drug misuse
• ISSN: 0033-2917; 1469-8978; 1469-8978
• DOI: 10.1017/S0033291719001727

The present paper provides an updated review of both the large number of new/novel/emerging psychoactive substances (NPS) and their associated psychopathological consequences. Focus was here given on identification of those NPS being commented in specialised online sources and the related short-/long-term psychopathological and medical ill-health effects. NPS have been identified through an innovative crawling/navigating software, called the 'NPS.Finder®', created in order to facilitate the process of early recognition of NPS online. A range of information regarding NPS, including chemical and street names; chemical formula; three-dimensional image and anecdotally reported clinical/psychoactive effects, were here made available. Using the 'NPS.Finder®' approach, a few thousand NPS were here preliminarily identified, a number which is about 4-fold higher than those figures suggested by European and international drug agencies. NPS most commonly associated with the onset of psychopathological consequences included here synthetic cannabinoids/cannabimimetics; new synthetic opioids; ketamine-like dissociatives; novel stimulants; novel psychedelics and several prescription and over-the-counter medicines. The ever-increasing changes in terms of recreational psychotropics' availability represent a relatively new challenge for psychiatry, as the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of many NPS have not been thoroughly understood. Health/mental health professionals should be informed about the range of NPS; their intake modalities; their psychoactive sought-after effects; the idiosyncratic psychotropics' combinations and finally, their medical and psychopathological risks.