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- Ecstasy and other synthetic drugs in France: situa...
Set up in 1999, as a part of the implementation of the three-years plan for the fight against drugs and to prevent dependence, SINTES (the national poison/substance identification system) has made up for the lack of data on synthetic drugs consumed in France.
It was set up in response to two requirements: on the one hand, to provide information on these substances (form, composition, dosage) and on the users and the contexts of use; on the other hand, to provide the French response to the obligations under the European Joint Action of 16 June 1997 to create a mechanism for rapid exchange of information on new synthetic drugs.
The term "synthetic drugs" is a generic designation, related to the more colloquial term “designer drugs”. It covers substances that vary as much in their chemical composition as in their effects. The two compounds most frequently encountered are methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) or ecstasy and amphetamine.
This issue of Trends presents the main results of the report "Regards sur l'ecstasy" published in 2003.