Pubdate: Wed, 22 Jun 2005
Source: China Daily (China)
Contact:   http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/911
Authors: Wu Chong, and Cao Desheng (China Daily)

NEW LAW TO MAKE DRUG TAKING CRIMINAL

A new narcotic control law is being mapped out as part of China's efforts 
to combat drug use, production and trafficking.

A draft of the law, listing drug taking as a crime, is currently being 
scrutinized by experts, according to the China National Narcotics Control 
Commission (NNCC).

"Hopefully they can be submitted to the State Council for a first review by 
the end of this year," said Li Yuanzheng, deputy director with the NNCC Office.

At the moment China has no laws specifically aimed at tackling narcotics. 
Although existing laws acknowledge the illegal possession of drugs, they 
fail to classify drug taking as a crime.

Legal experts have welcomed the new legislative efforts.

According to Professor Yang Hongtai from the Shanghai-based East China 
University of Politics and Law, drug taking does great harm to society and 
in failing to categorize it as a crime the nation falls short of the legal 
support necessary for a serious crackdown.

Statistics from the Ministry of Public Security indicate the number of 
registered drug addicts in China reached 791,000 by the end of last year. 
More than 2,200 of the nation's 2,863 counties were found to have drug users.

China's anti-narcotics measures are facing a serious challenge as 
production and sale of drugs such as ice and ecstasy rise, experts say.

Han Shannong, a police officer from Nanjing, capital of East China's 
Jiangsu Province, said many drug addicts cannot be prosecuted because there 
is no legal basis for criminal charges.

Besides preparing anti-drug legislation, the country's drug control 
watchdog is also lobbying top lawmakers to take steps to control the 
chemicals used in drug production.

While the country is poised to lay out a comprehensive set of laws to curb 
the drug problem, Yunnan Province -- China's anti-drug frontier -- has 
taken a step further.

In March, the province revised its local drug regulation, which was first 
issued in 1991, adding a number of revolutionary clauses.

under the new rules the province's drug rehabilitation and detention 
centres must include special zones for those with AIDS, in which the number 
of beds must account for 20 to 30 per cent of the total.

"Official statistics show about 41 per cent of current HIV/AIDS carriers in 
China are drug abusers," Sun said.

Also as part of the revised rules, the province plans to provide 36,000 
more beds in its compulsory drug rehab centres, with about 7,000 to be 
reserved for HIV/AIDS patients.

The revised regulation also requires an annual survey of the number of drug 
abusers in the province to enforce a sound registration system.

The measures echo a consensus reached among domestic experts that knowing 
the number of drug abusers is a vital step towards crushing the drug market.
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