Education Article ISSN 2334-9492 (Online) Hospital Pharmacology. 2020; 7(3):983-990 UDC: 615.21; 615.272(48)”2015/2017”; 615.21.03 New Psychoactive Substances - Challenges A Katarina B. Crnić, Mira N. Kovačević A Special hospital for addictions, Belgrade, Serbia SUMMARY Introduction: The United Nation Ofce of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) defnes „new psy- choactive substances” (NPS) as substances for abuse that are not under the control of the 1961 Convention on Narcotic Drugs or the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, but may constitute The defnition of a group of diferent substances, which have been developing very rapidly since 2000 and are difcult to identify due to frequent changes in pharmacological and toxicological properties.The health risk assessment of consumers has been insufciently researched.The use of NPS is reach- ing epidemic proportions worldwide and poses an increasing danger to the individual and public health. There are several basic groups of NPS, according to their chemical composition and pharmacological properties. All NPS cannot be safely diferentiated according to these groups, and their efects, potency and risk profle are not similar to the substances from which they are derived. The highest percentage of abused NPS is from the group of synthetic cathinones and synthetic cannabinoids. Clinicaly, NPS abuse is categorized as acute intoxications, which is more common, because NPS is most often used on certain occasions (outings, musical events) or as an addiction. Acute intoxications with diferent types of NPS are severe, with numerous mental and physical symptoms, often life-threatening and with fatal outcomes. Adequate diagnosis is uncertain, diagnostic laboratory tests for drugs are generally not appli- cable to NPS. Symptomatic internal medicine and psychiatric therapy are used in the treatment because there are no specifc antidotes, except for the group of synthetic opioids, (naltrexone). Patients with more serious complications are taken care of in intensive care units. Addiction to certain types of NPS is diagnosed and treated ac- cording to the principles of treatment of addiction to already known drugs. Methods: The paper presents an overview of available foreign and domestic literature and experiences of various authors on the topic of NPS from the previous 10 years, as well as the latest reports of regulatory bodies in the USA and Europe, in charge of monitoring epidemiological data on NPS. Topic: The main goal of the paper is to draw the attention of the professional public to the problem of the epidemic wave of new psychoactive substances in the world, as well as signifcant amounts of knowledge and experience and developing new strate- gies for registration, monitoring, diagnosis and treatment of abuses and dependence on these substances. Conclusion: These facts impose the need to raise the vigilance of the health and legal system according to the presence of NPS on the market and the prevalence of use in the population, their health risks, as well as connecting with European organizations for monitoring NPS and developing new strategies for their control and prevention. Keywords: New Drugs, Treatment, Public Health 983 © The Serbian Medical Society 2014 Corresponding author: Primarius Mira N. Kovačević, MD Specialist in Psychiatry Special hospital for addictions, Teodora Drajzera 44, Belgrade, Serbia E-mail: mikonos957@gmail.com doi:10.5937/hpimj2003983C