News item | 28-01-2025 | 14:53
After the Lower House, the Senate also voted for a ban on new psychoactive substances, also known as designer drugs. With this ban, entire dust groups with the same chemical basic structure are brought under the Opium Act. As a result, a whole group of common design drugs is prohibited in advance, regardless of the specific composition. The prohibition will start on July 1, 2025.
State Secretary for Youth, Prevention and Sport, Vincent Karremans: “It is now too easy for drug producers to make designer drugs that look like illegal drugs but are legally legal due to a slightly different chemical composition. Such a new drug does result in similar health risks, such as poisoning and heart palpitations, with hospital admissions and addiction problems as a result. With this prohibition on entire groups of new psychoactive substances, we counteract this practice. And with that we give a clear signal: this stuff is dangerous, stay away from it. “
Minister of Justice and Security, David van Weel: “With this law we cut down drug criminals. By banning the most common and dangerous dust groups, we are a step ahead of criminals and hinder the production and trade of designer drugs. The police and the OM have been insisting on this legislation for a long time. This makes this law an important step in combating undermining crime. “
Need
At present, a new substance is prohibited under the Opium Act if a risk assessment shows that it results in too large health risks. In practice, this ensures that drug producers quickly make a highly similar drug with a slightly different composition, so that the new drug can legally come on the market. A good example is the proven harmful 3-MMC (also known as “cat of meow”) that has been followed by the now legal 2-MMC.
Because designer drugs are easy and legally available, users incorrectly creates the impression that it is not so harmful means. In order to stop this development, it was decided to proceed with a bill in which common groups of new psychoactive substances (NPS, or designer drugs) are prohibited by adding a list (IA) to the Opium Act.
Education
With the prohibition on groups of new psychoactive substances, the simple availability of risky substances that are offered via websites is prevented as “Research Chemical”. This creates an important threshold for the use of these substances. At the same time, the prohibition supports the use of targeted prevention and information with which users are warned about the health risks of these drugs. In addition, due to this ban, authorities can respond faster to new developments around designer drugs, working more closely with international partners and making the Netherlands less attractive for drug crime.