Novel Psychoactive Substances and Behavioral Addictions

The present special issue addresses two key areas, which at first sight may not appear to be particularly related to each other. Their novelty, however, connects them tightly. The appearance of these two issues has, on one hand, required and promoted a renewal of the perspective in addiction science and, on the other hand, could facilitate the rethinking of practical , therapeutic, and preventive interventions. Thus, both areas share a main common aspect: they raise new issues that need to be addressed in the field of addictions and, as such, force us to reconsider former approaches. One of the focuses is the emergence of novel psychoactive substances, especially in relation to the fast moving and the potentially unlimited nature of their online market [1]. A " novel psychoactive substance " has been legally defined by the European Union as a new narcotic or psychotropic drug, either in pure form or in a preparation, that is not scheduled under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 or the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971, but which may pose a public health threat comparable to substances listed in the above-mentioned conventions (Council of the European Union decision 2005/387/JHA) (UNODC, 2014). From the psychedelic movements of the 1960s until the beginning of the 21st century, there was hardly any change regarding the most used drugs. In addition to cannabis, heroin, and cocaine, primarily LSD and, to a lesser extent, magic mushrooms among hallucinogenic drugs and amphet-amine basically covered the significant range of substances of abuse. Although the presence of ecstasy from the end of the 1980s had brought some moderate changes, it can be stated that researchers and prevention and treatment professionals could work in a relatively stable environment throughout decades. Users basically used the same drugs and sought help for similar problems, and therefore studies could systematically grow and support the preventive and clinical efforts. The novel psychoactive substances, however, that began to spread after the millennium [2–4] have fundamentally reorganized this apparently stable situation. Since then, new substances have constantly been appearing on the market. It is not rare that there is no time to even identify a new drug before another substance takes its place on the market and they might disappear a few days, weeks, or months later, while newer ones appear. This extremely rapidly changing situation concerning drug use and drug market set new challenges for professionals. …