A grey area has emerged between what is legal and what is not as states struggle with how to respond to the many new synthetic compounds emerging onto the market. The Expert Seminar on Herbal Stimulants and Legal highs was an initiative of the Transnational Institute ('TNI') working together with the International Drug Policy Consortium ('IDPC') and funded by the European Commission and the Open Society Institute. The Seminar took place in Amsterdam on 30-31st October 2011.

Highlighting the role of cooperation between law enforcement agencies in different countries, the study points to the need for a better understanding of illicit amphetamine markets to underpin a more effective and informed policy response.

The UNODC Global Synthetics Monitoring: Analyses, Reporting and Trends (SMART) Programme enhances the capacity of Member States in priority regions to generate, manage, analyse, report and use synthetic drug information to design effective policy and programme interventions.

On October, 2011, the Burnet Institute and the Transnational Institute (TNI) organised an informal two-day workshop on Harm Reduction and ATS in Myanmar. The 35-40 participants included local representatives from drug user organisations and peer outreach workers from different regions of Myanmar, as well as international and local NGOs, and UN agencies in Myanmar.

A new report by UNODC ranks amphetamine-type stimulants as the world's second most widely used type of drug after cannabis. Offering the most comprehensive and current analysis of the situation, the 2011 Global ATS Assessment notes that the expansion of the drug's trade and the high criminal profits pose an increasing threat to security and health worldwide.

This report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime provides an overview of the global drug situation.