State-run Chinese media have expressed skepticism that the country is a key source of fentanyl, despite an agreement with the RCMP that was seen as a tacit admission of China's role in fuelling the unfolding overdose crisis in Canada.

A Globe and Mail investigation last year revealed how fentanyl is manufactured in China and how easily it is shipped to Canada, and border officials here have intercepted dozens of such shipments.

Last November, the RCMP announced an agreement with the Chinese Ministry of Public Security to stem illicit fentanyl exports, citing recent seizures of fentanyl and carfentanil, an even stronger opioid, that originated in China.

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Forced Recuitment?

With China developing an appetite for marijuana, methamphetamine and other illicit substances, Chinese authorities are looking to stars as front-line soldiers in the battle against drugs.

BEIJING - Imagine if, after arresting a wave of celebrities on drug charges, U.S. government officials pressed the heads of major Hollywood studios, A-list actors, recordlabel chiefs and chart-topping singers to sign promises that they would stay away from vices such as drugs, pornography and gambling.

Simultaneously, substance-abusing performers found their films shut out of cinemas, forcing producers into hasty reshoots and re-edits, and news media began running editorials criticizing top directors for failing to inform on associates they had seen smoking pot or taking Ecstasy.

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Imagine if, after arresting a wave of celebrities on drug charges, American government officials pressed the heads of major Hollywood studios, A-list actors, record-label chiefs and chart-topping singers to sign promises that they would stay away from vices like drugs, pornography and gambling.

Simultaneously, substance-abusing performers found their films shut out of cinemas, forcing producers into hasty re-shoots and re-edits. And news media began running editorials criticising top directors for failing to inform on associates they had seen smoking pot or taking ecstasy.

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Beijing Turns Blind Eye to Chemists Whose Drugs Mimic Banned Substances

At midnight in a Shanghai laboratory, a Chinese chemist who called himself Terry was eager to close the deal. In the lab itself, a bright yellow liquid whirred around in a flask, an intense smell of fumes leaving a bitter aftertaste.

"Let's just be quick," he shouted. "Tell me what you want, how much you want, then we can talk about price, we can talk about shipment."

"Terry" is not the only rogue Shanghai chemist looking to make a living from the surging global trade in "legal highs". China has long been the workshop of the world, for everything from iPhones to Christmas tree lights. So it was only a matter of time, perhaps, before it filled the same role for drugs, churning out huge quantities of the synthesised products for recreational use in clubs and streets across the western world.

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BEIJING - The son of action comedy star Jackie Chan pleaded guilty Friday to providing a venue for drug users, one of thousands caught up in a widespread crackdown on illegal drugs in the capital.

Jaycee Chan was sentenced in a courtroom in the Chinese capital to six months in prison and a fine of about $322.

The 32-year-old was detained in his Beijing apartment in August, along with 23-year-old Taiwanese movie star Ko Chen-tung, known as Kai Ko, among others. Ko was released after a 14-day administrative detention for drug use.

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With his son's drug charges generating headlines, Chinese star Jackie Chan said he felt shamed by his son's behaviour and hoped he will behave in the future.

On Monday, Jackie Chan's son Jaycee Chan was prosecuted in Beijing for allegedly providing a venue for drug users, according to the People's Procuratorate of Beijing's Dongcheng District.

The prosecution came three months after he was formally arrested following a drugs bust at his residence in the capital.

"I hope that in the future, he could become an anti-drug spokesman and tell his experiences to young people," Jackie Chan said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua Wednesday.

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BEIJING: A number of Australians are facing the death penalty in China after being charged with serious drug offences.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said an unspecified number of Australians had been detained, but it would not reveal any further detail on specific cases.

"We are aware that a number of Australians have been detained in China on serious drug charges," it said. "These individuals are receiving appropriate consular assistance."

Government sources would not say how many Australians had been arrested but that a "number" of Australians have been charged over drug offences since late last year, although they had not yet been through the full judicial process.

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As Legalisation of Marijuana Spreads, Chinese Companies Have the Patents Ready to Exploit New Markets

Almost 5000 years ago, Chinese physicians recommended a tea made from cannabis leaves to treat a wide variety of conditions, including gout and malaria.

Today, as the global market for marijuana experiences an unprecedented boom after moves to legalise, it is China that again appears to have set its eyes on dominating trade in the drug.

The communist country is well placed to exploit the burgeoning cannabis trade with more than half of the patents relating to or involving cannabis originating in China.

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Hong Kong's ' happening' crowd may not see why it should be banned from smoking a joint, but the city's drug boss sees things another way

On a quiet beach, as night deepens, a group of campers kick back, relax ... and commit a crime that could cost them a HK$ 1million fine and seven years in prison. The campers are no Bill and Ted-style loveable losers. The Hollywood archetype of the stoner doesn't fit this group of Hong Kong twenty- and thirty-somethings. They move in a world full of fellow high- achievers and respectable contributors to society: teachers, bankers, lawyers, doctors, insurance salesmen, mothers, jewellery designers, who all like to toke.

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