Synthetic cathinones: an updated harms assessment
Published 11 May 2023
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From:
Rt Hon Chris Philp MP
Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire
2 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DF
To:
Professor Owen Bowden-Jones,
Chair, Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD)
Professor Simon Thomas
Chair of NPS Committee, ACMD
C/o 1st Floor
Peel Building
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF
By email: acmd@homeoffice.gov.uk
10 May 2023
Dear Owen,
Synthetic cathinones – an updated harms assessment
Following a Westminster Hall debate on 1 November 2022, I asked Home Office officials to undertake a period of research to consider the evidence available on the harms of 3’,4’-Methylenedioxy-α-pyrrolidinohexiophenone (MDPHP) and other synthetic cathinones. Since the ACMD last reported in 2010, it appears there has been an increase in reports of the use and harms of these drugs. I therefore write to request that the ACMD conducts an updated harms assessment of synthetic cathinones under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
In addition to increases in academic literature, more than 170 different synthetic cathinones have been flagged by 76 different countries through the UN Early Warning Advisory between 2018-2022. In contrast, when the ACMD reported in 2010 the number of known synthetic cathinones was significantly lower. I am particularly concerned about the harm of these drugs on users and the communities in which they live.
I would be grateful if your assessment, alongside harm reduction measures and classification, could include consideration of whether certain synthetic cathinones, such as MDPHP and others termed ‘monkey dust’, are significantly more harmful than others and may therefore merit a separate approach.
As ever, I appreciate the ACMD’s thoughtful and expert advice which is an essential part of the government’s approach to tackling the misuse of drugs and protecting communities.
Yours sincerely,
Rt Hon Chris Philp MP
Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire