Nearly 10,000 Beijing residents braved the pouring rain and walked 12 kilometres to highlight the danger of drugs.

Yesterday's participants came from all walks of life, although most were college students, to mark International Anti-Drugs Day.

According to statistics from the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, nearly 3,000 drug addicts in Beijing were sent to mandatory drug rehabilitation centres last year. A further 9,000 addicts went to rehab centres voluntarily.

Statistics from the Ministry of Public Security indicate the number of registered drug addicts in China reached more than 790,000 by the end of last year. More than 2,200 of the 2,863 counties were found to have drug users.

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