Tag: Drug Policy

The Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 is an Act of UK Parliament introduced under Theresa May’s government in an attempt to restrict the production, sale, and supply of novel psychoactive substances (NPS). NPS – also known as designer drugs, research chemicals or legal highs –, emerged in the mid-2000s. These new drugs, often compounds that were never marketed for medical use, were popularised for recreational use as they avoided criminalisation as outlined in the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, which placed sanctions on individual substances such as MDMA. An amendment to this Act in 2017 placed several NPS, including 16 designer benzodiazepines, into Class C.

​Substance use among Icelandic teens was one of the highest in Europe 20 years ago. According to a survey conducted in 1992, nearly a quarter of Icelandic teens smoked every day, and over 40 percent of teens had been intoxicated in the past month. These issues can lead to many grave consequences for teens, such as dropout rates increasing, decline in mental health, and the increase in road accidents. Due to these adverse after effects, the Icelandic government increased their efforts to help teens avoid using harmful substances.