Acute, chronic, and post-mortem toxicity: a review focused on three different classes of new psychoactive substances

Purpose New psychoactive substances (NPS) are not controlled under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 or the 1971 Convention, but they may pose a public health threat. Knowledge of the main properties and toxicological effects of these substances is lacking. According to the current Drugs Law (Law n. 11.343/2006), the Brazilian Surveillance Agency issues directives for forbidden substances in Brazil, and structural classes of synthetic cannabinoids, cathinones, and phenylethylamines are considered illicit drugs. Considering that data on these controlled substances are scattered, the main objective of this work was to collect and organize data to generate relevant information on the toxicological properties of NPS. Methods We carried out a literature review collecting information on the acute, chronic, and post-mortem toxicity of these classes of NSP. We searched info in five scientific databases considering works from 2017 to 2021 and performed a statistical evaluation of the data. Results Results have shown a general lack of studies in this field given that many NPS have not had their toxicity evaluated. We observed a significant difference in the volume of data concerning acute and chronic/post-mortem toxicity. Moreover, studies on the adverse effects of polydrug use are scarce. Conclusions More in-depth information about the main threats involving NPS use are needed.