The WHO Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD) is a committee within the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

(WHO) that consists of a chosen group of independent experts within the field of

pharmacology Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur betwee ...

. This committee meets once a year in order to evaluate the effects of psychotic substances towards the public and the properties that cause the addictions, and considering the possible medical or therapeutic benefits and applications.

Committee members

The committee is composed of different specialists (the number can vary) who are experts within the field of drugs and medicines. This list is updated alongside the 2023 46th ECDD Committee Member List: * Prof. Patrick Beardsley * Dr. Wim Best * Dr. Sandra Comer * Dr. Ifeoma Toyin Ekwere * Dr. Simon Elliott * Prof. Raka Jain * Dr Pamela Kaduri * Dr. Junichi Kitanaka * Dr. Antonio Pascale Prieto * Dr. Afarin Rahimi-Movaghar * Prof. Jason White * Suti Nudmamud Thanoi

Meetings

Due to the large amounts of meetings in the ECDD, this list will only go as far to the 45th Committee Meeting. 46th Expert Committee on Drug Dependence Meeting was held on 16 October 2023, and reviewed 8 different drugs, such as: Benzodiazepines such as Bromazolam and Flubromazepam, Novel synthetic

opioids Opioids are a class of Drug, drugs that derive from, or mimic, natural substances found in the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy plant. Opioids work on opioid receptors in the brain and other organs to produce a variety of morphine-like effects, ...

such as Butonitazene,

Cathinones Substituted cathinones, or simply cathinones, which include some stimulants and Empathogen-entactogen, entactogens, are chemical derivative, derivatives of cathinone. They feature a substituted phenethylamine, phenethylamine core with an alkyl ...

stimulants Stimulants (also known as central nervous system stimulants, or psychostimulants, or colloquially as uppers) are a class of drugs that increase alertness. They are used for various purposes, such as enhancing attention, motivation, cognitio ...

such as 3-CMC and Dipentylone, Dissociative-type substances such as 2-fluorodeschloroketamine as well as medicines such as

Nitrous Oxide (medication) Nitrous oxide, as medical gas supply, is an inhaled gas used as Analgesic, pain medication, and is typically administered with 50% oxygen mix. It is often used together with other anesthetic agents, medications for anesthesia. Common uses includ ...

and

Carisoprodol Carisoprodol, sold under the brand name Soma among others, is an oral medication used for musculoskeletal pain. Effects generally begin within half an hour and last for up to six hours. Common side effects include headache, dizziness, and s ...

. 45th Expert Committee on Drug Dependence Meeting 45th Expert Committee on Drug Dependence Meeting was held on 10 October 2022, and reviewed 9 different drugs such as:

Cannabinoids Cannabinoids () are several structural classes of compounds found primarily in the ''Cannabis'' plant or as synthetic compounds. The most notable cannabinoid is the phytocannabinoid tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (delta-9-THC), the primary psychoa ...

such as ADB-BUTINACA,

Benzodiazepines Benzodiazepines (BZD, BDZ, BZs), colloquially known as "benzos", are a class of central nervous system (CNS) depressant drugs whose core chemical structure is the fusion of a benzene ring and a diazepine ring. They are prescribed to treat co ...

such as Adinazolam and Bromazolam, syntetic opioids such as Protonitazene, Etodesnitazene, N-pyrrolidino etonitazene) and 2-Methyl-AP-237, Stimulants such as: alpha-PiHP and 3 -Methylmethcathinone (3-MMC) and medicines such as

Zopiclone Zopiclone, sold under the brand name Imovane among others, is a nonbenzodiazepine, specifically a cyclopyrrolone, used to treat difficulty sleeping. Zopiclone is molecularly distinct from benzodiazepine drugs and is classed as a cyclopyrrolone ...

Substances under watchlist

The ECDD currently have 25 drugs under their watchlist as of 2023, split into 7 different cateogories: Amphetamine-type stimulants: *

5-APB 5-APB (abbreviation of "5-(2-aminopropyl)benzofuran") is an empathogenic psychoactive compound of the phenethylamine, amphetamine, and benzofuran families. The drug and other compounds have sometimes been informally called "Benzofury". 5-APB ha ...

* 5-MAPB * 2-DPMP * MDAI

: * Adinazolam * Bromazolam Synthetic Cannabinoid Receptor Agonists: * 4F-MDMB-BICA * APINACA *

RCS-4 RCS-4, or 1-pentyl-3-(4-methoxybenzoyl)indole, is a synthetic cannabinoid drug sold under the names SR-19, BTM-4, or Eric-4 (later shortened to E-4), but originally, OBT-199. Pharmacology RCS-4 is a potent cannabinoid receptor agonist, with EC ...

JWH-250 JWH-250 or (1-pentyl-3-(2-methoxyphenylacetyl)indole) is an analgesic chemical from the phenylacetylindole family that acts as a cannabinoid agonist at both the Cannabinoid receptor 1, CB1 and Cannabinoid receptor 2 (macrophage), CB2 receptors, w ...

* JWH-073 Synthetic cathinones: * 4-Fluoromethcathinone *

Benzylone Benzylone (also known as 3,4-Methylenedioxy-N-benzylcathinone or BMDP), is a recreational designer drug from the substituted cathinone family, with stimulant effects. It has been commonly encountered in seizures of street drug samples but appear ...

Opioids Opioids are a class of Drug, drugs that derive from, or mimic, natural substances found in the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy plant. Opioids work on opioid receptors in the brain and other organs to produce a variety of morphine-like effects, ...

: * Para-methoxybutyryl fentanyl * Parafluorofuranylfentanyl *

Kratom ''Mitragyna speciosa'' is a tropical evergreen tree of the Rubiaceae family (coffee family) native to Southeast Asia. It is indigenous to Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Papua New Guinea, where its dark green, glossy leav ...

mitragynine Mitragynine is an indole-based alkaloid and is one of the main Psychoactive drug, psychoactive constituents in the Southeast Asian plant ''Mitragyna speciosa'', commonly known as kratom. It is an atypical opioid that is typically consumed as a p ...

/ 7-Hydroxymitragynine

Tryptamines Substituted tryptamines, or simply tryptamines, also known as serotonin analogues (i.e., 5-hydroxytryptamine analogues), are organic compounds which may be thought of as being derived from tryptamine itself. The molecular structures of all trypt ...

: * Alpha-methyltryptamine Psychoactive Medicines: *

Gabapentin Gabapentin, sold under the brand name Neurontin among others, is an anticonvulsant medication primarily used to treat neuropathic pain and also for partial seizures of epilepsy. It is a commonly used medication for the treatment of neuropath ...

Ketamine Ketamine is a cyclohexanone-derived general anesthetic and NMDA receptor antagonist with analgesic and hallucinogenic properties, used medically for anesthesia, depression, and pain management. Ketamine exists as its S- (esketamine) a ...

Phenibut Phenibut, sold under the brand name Anvifen among others, is a central nervous system (CNS) depressant with anxiolytic effects, and is used to treat anxiety, insomnia, and for a variety of other indications. It is usually taken oral administrat ...

Pregabalin Pregabalin, sold under the brand name Lyrica among others, is an anticonvulsant, analgesic, and anxiolytic amino acid medication used to treat epilepsy, neuropathic pain, fibromyalgia, restless legs syndrome, opioid withdrawal, generalized anx ...

* Tapentadol *

Tramadol Tramadol, sold under the brand name Tramal among others, is an opioid analgesic, pain medication and a serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) used to treat moderately severe pain. When taken by mouth in an immediate-release form ...

Zaleplon Zaleplon, sold under the brand name Sonata among others, is a sedative and hypnotic which is used to treat insomnia. It is a nonbenzodiazepine or Z-drug of the pyrazolopyrimidine class. It was developed by King Pharmaceuticals and approved fo ...

Notes

References

{{reflist World Health Organization Drug policy organizations

Committee members

Meetings

Substances under watchlist

See also

Notes

References