Saudi Forensic Toxicologists are Paving the Road Toward National and Regional Early Warning Systems (EWS) on the New Psychoactive Substance (NPS)

Abstract

The global expansion of NPS encouraged the proposal of alternative policies that seem to be effective in protecting public health. In Europe, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and Europol, with their partners, operate the EU Early Warning System (EWS), which disseminates information on trends in drug abuse across the EU member states, Turkey, and Norway. Since NPS market is so dynamic, less developed countries, with limited analytical capabilities and lack of legislations, are in danger of NPS outbreak. In Saudi Arabia, we believe that there is a recognized opportunity for more systematic use and timely triangulation of existing data to rapidly assess and identify emerging illicit drug trends. The overarching aim of this scoping study was to determine the feasibility of establishing a national early warning system (EWS). The objectives were to identify existing data sources routinely collected and collated; and identify and describe the data sources feasible for inclusion in an EWS. A national level brainstorming, among forensic toxicologists, was carried out for months through online meetings, conference talks and epidemiological surveys, to identify and convince stakeholders, estimate the possible danger, and promote the idea of establishing a national NPS. From forensic toxicologist point of view, the analytical data of biological samples and seized material strongly suggests that there is an urgent need for national and regional EWSs. In this conference, we would like to share the most recent developments and our long-term goals and future plans. We firmly believe that establishment of a national EWS must be done in close collaboration with the existing international agencies, like the UNODC, the EMCDDA, or the EWS. Also, it must be supported by awareness campaigns showing the dangers of NPS use for potential consumers.