Brussels, 26/06/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 25 June, the European Commission proposed to the member states an EU-wide ban on the drug “5-IT”, a synthetic substance with stimulant and hallucinogenic properties, it has announced in a press release. The Commission would like the member states to submit the drug to control measures, as is already the case in seven countries (Germany, Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, Hungary, Italy and Sweden) plus Norway. Between April and August 2012, 5-(2-aminopropyl) indole (or “5-IT”) was associated with the deaths of 24 people in four member states (Germany, Hungary, the United Kingdom and Sweden), either taken alone or in combination with other substances.
The Commission's proposal would ban the manufacture and sales of “5-IT”, making it subject to criminal sanctions all over Europe. EU governments must now decide on whether to put these measures into force, voting by a qualified majority. “5-IT” is a synthetic substance with stimulant and hallucinogenic effects. It has been found mostly as a powder, but also in tablet and capsule form. It is commercially available on the internet and from “head shops”, usually marketed as a “research chemical”. It has also been detected in samples of a “legal high” product called “Benzo Fury”, and in tablets resembling ecstasy. It can have serious adverse effects, such as tachycardia and hypothermia, and may also cause mydriasis, agitation and tremor. (SP/transl.fl)