Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Regulating NPS in the Middle East: A Critical Juncture

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Novel Psychoactive Substances

  • 545 Accesses

Abstract

Middle Eastern member states have found themselves at a critical juncture with regard to the emergence of novel psychoactive substances (NPS). Drawing on the history of regulatory systems for illicit drugs in the region, international scholarship on the impact of drugs on governance and development and the formal and informal regulatory systems adopted by member states, this work charts possible future directions of NPS policy in the Middle East. Through a historical evaluation of regulatory systems, lessons are drawn from the emergence of the lucrative and violent trade for opiates in the 1970s, coinciding with rising Western demand and ‘prohibition’. It questions the impact of emergency scheduling powers on reducing use, harm or trafficking in NPS. Exploring regulatory approaches towards khat, this analysis draws broader implications of poor or non-existing regulation of psychoactive substances. Furthermore, mapping the supply chains for NPS will be of great importance in understanding how such substances might be intertwined with conflict dynamics or conflated with the trafficking of other ‘traditional’ drugs, drawing on the case of Captagon. Highlighting existing informal systems of regulation, this contribution challenges the goals of drug control. It is argued that regulation should reduce the harms caused by NPS, and policy itself, to the individual user and society. In conclusion, the implication for future research on NPS in the Middle East is that close attention should be paid to idiosyncratic models for regulation based on local dynamics of the NPS trade, as states risk catalysing a renewed ‘war on drugs’.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 74.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    The ‘Big Four’ is a term used for the four major opium exporters during this time, i.e. Turkey, Iran, India and Yugoslavia.

  2. 2.

    As confirmed in discussions with UNODC personnel working in the region and field work conducted in Tehran during 2015.

  3. 3.

    As confirmed in discussions with UNODC personnel working in the region.

  4. 4.

    The national focal point in charge of coordinating the government response to the production, distribution and trafficking of illicit drugs.

  5. 5.

    For example, the lifting of sanctions on Iran after the signing of the nuclear deal may bring it ‘closer’ to Western markets, although the impact of this is not yet clear.

References

  • ACMD (2005) Khat (Qat): assessment of risk to the individual and communities in the UK. Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), London

    Google Scholar 

  • Al-Imam A, Santacroce R, Roman-Urrestarazu A, Chilcott R, Bersani G, Martinotti G, Corazza O (2016) Captagon: use and trade in the Middle East. Hum Psychopharmacol Clin Exp:1–8, Special Issue on Novel Psychoactive Substances. doi:10.1002/hup.2548

  • Becker J (2011) Beirut Bank seen as a hub of Hezbollah’s financing. New York Times

    Google Scholar 

  • Cadet-Taïrou A (2016) Profils et pratiques des usagers de nouveaux produits de synthèse. Tend. OFDT 108

    Google Scholar 

  • Caulkins JP, Reuter PH (2009) Towards a harm reduction approach to enforcement. Saf Commun 9:9–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collins J (2014) Ending the drug wars. LSE IDEAS, London School of Economics and Political Science, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Collins J (2015) Regulations and prohibitions: Anglo-American relations and international drug control, 1939-1964. London School of Economics and Political Science, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Collins J (ed) (2016) After the drug wars: report of the LSE expert group on the economics of drug policy. LSE IDEAS, London School of Economics and Political Science

    Google Scholar 

  • Corazza O, Assi S, Simonato P, Corkery JM, Bersani FS, Demetrovics Z, Stair J, Fergus S, Pezzolesi C, Pasinetti M, Deluca P, Drummond C, Davey Z, Blaszko U, Moskalewicz J, Mervo B, Di Furia L, Farre M, Flesland L, Pisarska A, Shapiro H, Siemann H, Skutle A, Sferrazza E, Torrens M, Sambola F, van der Kreeft P, Scherbaum N, Schifano F (2013) Promoting innovation and excellence to face the rapid diffusion of novel psychoactive substances in the EU: the outcomes of the ReDNet project. Hum Psychopharmacol Clin Exp 28:317–323

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Corazza O, Assi S, Malekianragheb S, Beni MN, Bigdeli I, Aslanpour Z, Schifano F (2014a) Monitoring novel psychoactive substances allegedly offered online for sale in Persian and Arabic languages. Int J Drug Policy 25:724–726

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Corazza O, Valeriani G, Bersani FS, Corkery JM, Martinotti G, Bersani G, Schifano F (2014b) “Spice,” “Kryptonite,” “Black Mamba”: an overview of brand names and marketing strategies of novel psychoactive substances on the web. J Psychoactive Drugs 46:287–294

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crabtree B (2016) The nexus of conflict and illicit drug trafficking: Syria and the wider region. The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • Csete J (2014) European policy on khat: drug policy lessons not learned (No. Policy Brief 2). Global Drug Policy Observatory, Swansea University

    Google Scholar 

  • EMCDDA (2016) Health responses to new psychoactive substances. European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), Luxembourg

    Google Scholar 

  • Fawzi MM (2011) Some medicolegal aspects concerning tramadol abuse: the new Middle East youth plague 2010. An Egyptian overview. Egypt J Forensic Sci 1:99–102

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Felbab-Brown V (2014) Improving supply-side policies. In: Collins J (ed) Ending the drug wars: report of the LSE Expert Group on the economics of drug policy. LSE IDEAS, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, pp 41–48

    Google Scholar 

  • Fitzgerald J (2009) Khat: a literature review. Centre for Culture, Ethnicity and Health, the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation, Melbourne

    Google Scholar 

  • Gebissa E (2010) Khat in the Horn of Africa: historical perspectives and current trends. J Ethnopharmacol 132:607–614

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Global Commission on Drug Policy (2011) War on drugs: report of the Global Commission on drug policy

    Google Scholar 

  • Hansen B (2001) Learning to tax: the political economy of the opium trade in Iran, 1921–1941. J Econ Hist 61:95–113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • INCB (2014) Report of the international narcotics control board for 2013 (annual report). INCB, United Nations, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • INCB (2015) Report of the international narcotics control board for 2014 (annual report). INCB, United Nations, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • INCB (2016) Report of the international narcotics control board for 2015 (annual report). INCB, United Nations, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Isralowitz R, Afifi M, Rawson R (eds) (2002) Drug problems: cross-cultural policy and program development. Auburn House, Westport, CT

    Google Scholar 

  • Katselou M, Papoutsis I, Nikolau P, Qammaz S, Spiliopoulou C, Athanaselis S (2016) Fenethylline (Captagon) abuse—local problems from an old drug become universal. Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol 119:133–140

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King LA, Kicman AT (2011) A brief history of “new psychoactive substances”. Drug Test Anal 3:401–403

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klein A, Metaal P (2010) A good chew or good riddance—how to move forward in the regulation of khat consumption. J Ethnopharmacol 132:584–589

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klein A, Beckerleg S, Hailu D (2009) Regulating khat—dilemmas and opportunities for the international drug control system. Int J Drug Policy 20:509–513

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manjiani D, Paul DB, Kunnumpurath S, Kaye AD, Vadivelu N (2014) Availability and utilization of opioids for pain management: global issues. Ochsner J 14:208–215

    Google Scholar 

  • Martins SS, Ghandour LA (2017) Nonmedical use of prescription drugs in adolescents and young adults: not just a Western phenomenon. World Psychiatry 16:102–104

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McAllister WB (2000) Drug diplomacy in the twentieth century: an international history. Routledge, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Mejia D, Restrepo P (2014) Why is strict prohibition collapsing? A perspective from producer and transit countries. In: Collins J (ed) Ending the drug wars: report of the LSE Expert Group on the economics of drug policy. LSE IDEAS, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, pp 26–32

    Google Scholar 

  • Nadelmann E (1993) Should we legalize drugs? History answers. Am Herit 44:41–48

    Google Scholar 

  • Odenwald M, Klein A, Warfa N (2011) Drugs in focus: briefing of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (No. 1st Issue), drugs in focus. Office for Office Publications of the European Communities @ European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Various Locations

    Google Scholar 

  • Penney J, Dargan PI, Padmore J, Wood DM, Norman IJ (2016) Epidemiology of adolescent substance use in London schools. QJM Int J Med 109:405–409

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reuter PH (2014) The mobility of drug trafficking. In: Collins J (ed) Ending the drug wars: report of the LSE Expert Group on the economics of drug policy. LSE IDEAS, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, pp 33–40

    Google Scholar 

  • Reuter PH, Pardo B (2017) Can new psychoactive substances be regulated effectively? An assessment of the British Psychoactive Substances Bill. Addiction 112(1):25–31. doi:10.1111/add.13439

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reuter PH, Pollack HA, Pardo B (2016) If tougher enforcement cannot reliably raise drug prices, what are appropriate goals and metrics? In: Collins J (ed) After the drug wars: report of the LSE Expert Group on the economics of drug policy. LSE IDEAS, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, pp 51–58

    Google Scholar 

  • Reuters (2015) Lebanon parliament endorses money laundry, combating terrorism laws [WWW Document]. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-lebanon-parliament-legislation-idUSKCN0T22GK20151113

  • Robins P (2016) Middle East drugs bazaar: production, prevention and consumption. Hurst & Company, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosca P, Bauer A, Khawaled RR, Kahana E, Goldman K (2015) The recent legal approach to new psycho-active substances regulation in Israel: does it work? Civ Leg Sci 4:1–6

    Google Scholar 

  • Sagredo J, Schleifer R, Avafia T (2016) Addressing the development dimensions of drug policy. In: Collins J (ed) After the drug wars: report of the LSE Expert Group on the economics of drug policy. LSE IDEAS, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, pp 97–108

    Google Scholar 

  • Shaw M (2016) UNGASS 2016: the focus on “Harm Reduction” is making us blind to reducing the broader harms of organised crime. In: Collins J (ed) After the drug wars: report of the LSE Expert Group on the economics of drug policy. LSE IDEAS, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, pp 89–96

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith JP, Sutcliffe OB, Banks CE (2015) An overview of recent developments in the analytical detection of new psychoactive substances (NPSs). Analyst 140:4932–4948

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sumnall HR, Evans-Brown M, McVeigh J (2011) Social, policy, and public health perspectives on new psychoactive substances. Drug Test Anal 3:515–523

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • United Nations (1961) Single convention on narcotic drugs, 1961

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations (1971) Convention on psychotropic substances, 1971. United Nations

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2014) Current situation with respect to regional and subregional cooperation: report of the Secretariat (No. UNODC/SUBCOM/49/CRP.1). Subcommission on Illicit Drug Traffic and Related Matters in the Near and Middle East: Forty-ninth session. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Vienna

    Google Scholar 

  • United States Drug Enforcement Administration (2016) DEA and European Authorities Uncover Massive Hizballah Drug and Money Laundering Scheme: seven countries involved in disrupting drug money flow for terror regime [WWW Document]. DEA. https://www.dea.gov/divisions/hq/2016/hq020116.shtml

  • UNODC (2008) A century of international drug control. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Vienna

    Google Scholar 

  • UNODC (2015) Drug-related crime report for world drug report 2015. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • UNODC (2016) World drug report 2016. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Vienna

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Valente MJ, de Pinho PG, Bastos ML, Carvalho F, Carvalho M (2014) Khat and synthetic cathinones: a review. Arch Toxicol 88:15–45

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Hout MC, Wells J (2016) Is Captagon (Fenethylline) helping to fuel the Syrian conflict? Addiction 111:748–749

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weiss S, Sawa GH, Abdeen Z, Yanai J (1999) Substance abuse studies and prevention efforts among Arabs in the 1990s in Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority—a literature review. Addiction 94:177–198

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Werb D, Kerr T, Nosyk B, Strathdee S, Montaner J, Wood E (2013) The temporal relationship between drug supply indicators: an audit of international government surveillance systems. BMJ 3:1–8

    Google Scholar 

  • WFP (2016) Countries: Yemen [WWW Document]. https://www.wfp.org/countries/yemen/overview. Accessed 20 Aug 2016

  • WHO (2006) 34th ECDD 2006/4.4: assessment of khat (Catha edulis Forsk). WHO, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • WHO (2015) WHO Expert Committee on drug dependence: thirty-sixth report, WHO technical report series 991. World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization (2014) Tramadol: update review report: Agenda item 6.1, Expert Committee on Drug Dependence: thirty-sixth meeting. World Health Organization, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. LSE IDEAS International Drug Policy Project, London School of Economics (LSE), London, UK

    Alexander Soderholm

Authors
  1. Alexander Soderholm
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alexander Soderholm .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Life and Medical Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, United Kingdom

    Ornella Corazza

  2. Institute of Public Health, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom

    Andres Roman-Urrestarazu

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Soderholm, A. (2017). Regulating NPS in the Middle East: A Critical Juncture. In: Corazza, O., Roman-Urrestarazu, A. (eds) Novel Psychoactive Substances. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60600-2_6

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60600-2_6

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-60599-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-60600-2

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation