The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) is taking steps to establish the world's first international guidelines for assessing dependency on stimulant drugs. This initiative aims to standardize the evaluation criteria for new psychoactive substances, which have varied significantly across countries, with a goal of finalizing the United Nations guidelines by the end of the year.
On July 1, the MFDS announced that its Food and Drug Safety Evaluation Institute held a meeting with domestic and international experts to develop the first international (UN) guidelines for stimulant drugs, in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The final version of the guidelines is expected to be published in December.
The guidelines are being developed to address the lack of standardized criteria for assessing drug dependency, which has led to inconsistencies in the scientific basis and evaluation results for the designation and management of new psychoactive substances across different nations.
Last year, the MFDS and UNODC established and distributed guidelines for opioid-based drugs. This year, they plan to create guidelines focusing on stimulant drugs, detailing the types of laboratory animals, equipment configurations, testing principles, specific testing methods, result analysis, and considerations for evaluation.
To facilitate this, experts from the MFDS, UNODC, and various countries convened earlier this month in Rome, Italy, to discuss the draft guidelines. Revisions and enhancements are currently underway based on the meeting's outcomes, with a global consultation of experts scheduled for September to November, leading to the final publication in December.
The MFDS and UNODC previously signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish a foundation for international cooperation. Ongoing joint research is being conducted based on existing dependency assessment guidelines published by the MFDS, in collaboration with UNODC and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST). The MFDS plans to develop a total of four international guidelines by 2028.
During the recent meeting, participants also discussed developing training programs to promote the utilization and dissemination of the international guidelines for assessing opioid drug dependency established last year. Experts agreed on the need to pilot the training program in Korea before expanding it globally, and they committed to securing funding for UNODC-level training programs and international dissemination.
The MFDS stated, "With the development of these guidelines, we expect to establish official standards in the area of stimulant drug dependency assessment, which previously lacked international criteria, aiding countries in their responses to new psychoactive substances. We will continue to work with the international community to build a standardized drug assessment system."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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