Pubdate: Mon, 25 Jun 2007
Source: China Daily (China)
Copyright: 2007 China Daily
Contact: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/static-e/Contact-Us.html
Website: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4379
Author: Xiao Feng in Beijing and Cai Xiong, Guangzhou
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)

DRUG CZAR WARNS OF TOUGH FIGHT AHEAD

A senior police officer warned yesterday that China faces an uphill 
battle in its fight against illegal narcotics, particularly given the 
increasing availability of new types of drugs.

Yang Fengrui, director of the Ministry of Public Security's narcotics 
control bureau, said in an online interview that much remained to be 
done to continue the authorities' successful two-year battle against drug use.

New types of drugs, like ice, ecstasy and ketamine, have been 
spreading at a tremendous speed across the nation and are posing a 
great threat to social stability, he said.

People using these new types of drugs account for a growing portion 
of drug arrests.

"Still more new-type drug users may not have been discovered yet," he said.

Yang said it was a mistake for people to think that ice and ecstasy 
are not drugs, adding that they are actually addictive and harmful to 
the nervous system.

Long-time consumption of the drugs could lead to mental disorders and 
loss of self-control, he said.

Yang warned that young people, especially students, should be careful 
about accepting drinks and cigarettes from others in public.

According to incomplete statistics from the bureau, the police dealt 
with 1,959 drug-related cases at public entertainment places 
nationwide last year.

Tempted by the large profits, many managers of such establishments 
allow or directly provide drugs to customers, he said.

Yang said a large-scale drug education campaign is urgent.

He said the special campaign against narcotics that kicked off in 
2005 had yielded substantial results, with the annual growth rate of 
new addicts dropping from 30 percent in 2000 to 5.8 percent last year.

Last year, police cracked 46,300 drug-related cases, seizing 56,200 
suspects. They also seized 5.79 tons of heroin, 1.69 tons of opium, 
5.95 tons of ice, 454,100 ecstasy pills and 1.79 tons of ketamine.

The government spent 110 million yuan ($14.3 million) last year to 
set up a drug prevention and control system that involves all 
relevant departments.

Statistics from the bureau show that the price of heroin in most 
parts of the country had increased by 80 to 100 percent last year 
because of the crackdown. It is now much more difficult for drug 
users to buy heroin.

Last year, 660,000 heroin users were caught, 6 percent less than the 
year before.

The percentage of new HIV cases caused by shared needles dropped to 
49 percent last year from 68.7 percent in 2001.
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