Hungary expanding the list of prohibited designer drugs

Hungary is expanding the list of prohibited designer drugs this summer, Bence Révtári, the parliamentary state secretary of the interior ministry, said in a statement on Friday. Designer drugs, he said, posed a particular threat and Hungary has broadened the list of banned psychoactive substances with seven new ones.

He noted Hungary maintains a zero-tolerance drugs policy, adding that the “competition between drug labs and the police” was constant, and it was important to update the list of prohibited substances regularly so that the authorities “can take action against the distributors of the latest drugs as soon as possible”.

Of the seven newly listed substances, four appearing in Hungary are classified as synthetic and semi-synthetic cannabinoids.

Among the other three substances, one is a synthetic derivative of LSD, another has a sedative-hypnotic effect, while a synthetic opioid derivative belonging to the nitazene opioid group poses a serious health risk, he said. The latter have not yet been seized in Hungary, he added.

The state secretary said that whenever a new psychoactive substance appeared in Hungary, the conditions were in place to seize it and initiate criminal proceedings. Since 2015 a ministerial decree has defined the list of controlled substances, allowing the authorities to respond more quickly and flexibly to new substances.

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