CHINA: WAR DECLARED ON DESIGNER DRUGS

[Alfa]

WAR DECLARED ON DESIGNER DRUGS AS CHINESE MIDDLE CLASS GETS HIGH


A "people's war" on narcotics in China has turned into a campaign against designer drugs after police found a surge in usage of ecstasy, ketamine and methamphetamine, or ice, among urban professionals.


In a shift that may be down to a booming economy and the growing influence of globalised culture, Chinese authorities said this week the focus of their anti-drugs campaigns has widened from disadvantaged social groups - such as minorities, prostitutes and the unemployed - to affluent white-collar workers.


According to the domestic media, the public security ministry launched a campaign against "new drugs" - synthetic stimulants and hallucinogenic chemicals - which are popular in nightclubs and karaoke bars in the fast-growing cities such as Shanghai and Chongqing.


In November, the government will introduce new rules to crack down on the use of such narcotics, which are not clearly covered by existing laws. The new policy follows a sharp rise in seizures of laboratory-made drugs.


According to the ministry spokesman, Wu Heping, police confiscated 370,000 tablets of ecstasy in the first seven months of the year - a rise of 54% over the same period last year - and 2.2 tonnes of ice, up 9.5%.


Previous campaigns have focussed on traditional narcotics, such as heroin, in poor border provinces long linked with drug abuse, such as Yunnan - near the Golden Triangle with Burma and Thailand - and Xinjiang - close to the poppy fields of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Although dealers face the death penalty if caught, police believe there has been a steady growth in the trade in recent years.


No reliable figures exist to assess the scale of the drug problem. Official statistics show there were 790,000 drug users registered last year, though the actual figure could be in the tens of millions.


In April, the Chinese state councillor and public security minister, Zhou Yongkang, declared a "people's war" against drugs, but the seizures of man-made amphetamines in cities has forced a rethink of such traditional measures.


Liu Yuejin, vice-director of the narcotic control bureau, said there had been a sharp rise in the use of man-made narcotics, which now accounts for 9.5% of registered addicts. He told the China Daily that almost all of the 500 guests at a recent wedding in Shanghai had been given a ketamine pill.


Officials have reportedly closed down 27 underground factories producing ice and ecstasy and raided numerous karaoke bars - which are often a front for prostitution and drug dealing.

[Alfa]

Originally Posted by Alfa

According to the domestic media, the public security ministry launched a campaign against "new drugs" - synthetic stimulants and hallucinogenic chemicals.


In November, the government will introduce new rules to crack down on the use of such narcotics, which are not clearly covered by existing laws.

RC's may become very hard to find after november IMO.

[anj0vis]

"He told the China Daily that almost all of the 500 guests at a recent wedding in Shanghai had been given a ketamine pill."

..quite a wedding I must say.. hmm..

this is interesting news as quite a chunk of world's interesting psychoactive chemicals come from China. I still think even in China this is very much of an uphill-battle.

[PenguinPhreak]

I think China is a shining example of what a miserable failure
prohibition is. Even with their barbarically severe anti-drug laws they
are unable to control their populations drug use. Eventually people
will have to accept the fact that drive to alter our conciousness is
engrained in us, just like the drive to have sex. No amount of
punishment is going to stop people from trying to get high, its simple
a futile effort.