Around 90 countries are set to adopt international guidelines for assessing the abuse and dependence potential of new psychoactive substances developed by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. (Ministry of Food and Drug Safety)

By Margareth Theresia

Domestically developed criteria for assessment of drug dependence have been adopted as global guidelines and simultaneously distributed in Korean and English to approximately 90 countries.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Dec. 18 said that under a joint effort with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), it developed the world's first international guidelines providing scientific criteria to assess the potential for abuse and dependence of new psychoactive substances.

This collaboration was the result of global cooperation initiated by a letter of intent signed by the ministry and UNODC in November 2022, followed by a memorandum of understanding in September 2023. The research results were also based on guidelines for drug dependence assessment from the National Institute of Food and Drug Safety Evaluation, a ministry affiliate.

The guidelines focus on synthetic opioids picked as the initial target substances due to global public health risks associated with opioid misuse and overdose, as well as the feasibility of clearly defining the potential for their abuse and dependence through animal behavioral studies.

In addition, they provide standardized guidance on species of test animals and experimental equipment; principles and detailed procedures for assessment methods; and data analysis and consideration for interpretation.

"The development of this guideline marks a turning point, moving Korea beyond simply following international standards to actively leading their development," Minister of Food and Drug Safety Oh Yu-Kyung said.

"We hope this achievement demonstrates Korea's regulatory and scientific capabilities, and we will continue working with the international community to ensure that Korea's standards contribute to global drug control efforts."

margareth@korea.kr