31st August, 2016
The European Union executive on Wednesday proposed to ban a new psychoactive drug, known as Black Mamba.
The union said in a statement in Brussels that the drug had been linked to 28 deaths across the bloc and might cause violence and aggression.
“New chemical compounds that can mimic the effect of banned drugs regularly appear on the scene.
“They are often legal until regulators catch up with new substances and find out to what extent they are harmful,” it said.
The union said European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) noted that the proposal related to the psychoactive substance MDMB-CHMICA and followed an assessment by it.
It said that it found that the “acute toxicity” of the substance could cause “severe harm.
EMCDDA said that eight member states had reported 28 deaths and 25 acute intoxications associated with the drug.
It said that majority of EU member states must now approve the ban and the European Parliament must be consulted before it could take effect.
EMCDDA said that the commission also proposed strengthening its role to help it crack down more swiftly and effectively against new drugs.