Associations entre les facteurs psychosociaux au travail et l’anxiété et la dépression dans l’enquête nationale SUMER 2010

In recent years, the appearance on the illicit market of large numbers of novel psychoactive substances has created legislative problems for governments. Stemming from the international drug control treaties, a central principle is that harmful properties need to be demonstrated before a substance can be scheduled. Yet for many of these substances, little is known about their pharmacology and toxicology. Furthermore, reliable population surveys and information on prevalence may not become available until a substance is well-established. While not requiring extensive resources, the basic properties of new substances could be investigated, but governments often wish to act before use becomes widespread. The existing systems of drug legislation are discussed, some of which (i.e. generic definitions and analogue control) originated in an earlier period of concern about ‘designer drugs’. There is a common view in many countries that existing drug law is inadequate and that new solutions must be found. Some of these new approaches to drug control are described here.