1.The Global Emergence of NPS: An Analysis of a New Drug Trend -- 2.Legislating NPS in the European Union -- 3.Regulation as Global Drug Governance – How New is the NPS Phenomenon? -- 4.Anti-Doping Challenges with Novel Psychoactive Substances in Sport -- 5.Exploring Novel Policy Responses to NPS and ‘legal highs’ in New Zealand, Poland, Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom -- 6.Regulating NPS in the Middle East: A Critical Juncture -- 7.Finding Novel Policy Response to the Challenge of NPS in Kazakhstan: Reconsidering Existing Policy and the Work of Health Professionals -- 8.NPS Policy Pitfalls: The Implementation and Management Challenges Within the Prison, Police and Health Services in the United Kingdom -- 9.NPS: An Opportunity to Move From Blanket Prohibition to a More Functionalist Approach? -- 10.The Challenges in Interpreting National-Level Strategic Indicators: A Drug Enforcement Administration Analyst’s Perspective -- 11.Harmonizing NPS Legislation Across the European Union: An Utopia? -- 12.New psychoactive substances: The Regulatory Experience and Assessment of Options.

In light of the recent emergence of New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) on a global scale, this book provides a timely analysis of the social and economic impact of the NPS phenomenon, and of the global policy and regulatory responses to it. It presents the first comprehensive overview of the international regulation, policy and market structure of the NPS phenomenon, offering a guide to inform legislative discussions and demonstrating from a comparative perspective the different approaches used to address the rise of NPS to date. It covers topics such as organized crime, drug markets, clinical evidence on NPS, and different regulatory measures. Overall, this highly informative and well-structured repository of different experiences with NPS policy, law and regulation offers an essential primary source of evidence for anyone interested in the area of drug and NPS policy, health economics and public health.