A worker weighs drugs at the workshop of a pharmaceutical company in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, on Feb. 3, 2020. (Xinhua File photo)

 
China’s National Narcotics Control Commission (NNCC) released its annual report on the drug abuse situation on Wednesday, as the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, which falls on Friday, approaches. The report shows drug abuse in the country is falling. 

The report said China had 2.14 million drug addicts as of the end of 2019. They account for 0.16 percent of China’s population, a drop of 10.6 percent from 2018. The proportion of drug abusers has been declining for a second year. 

Among the drug addicts, 1.18 million are meth abusers, 807,000 are heroin users and 49,000 are ketamine addicts. Another 24,000 are marijuana users who are mainly foreigners, people who studied or worked overseas, and entertainers. 

Moreover, 2.53 million former drug abusers have not been using drugs for three years, up 22.2 percent year-on-year. The figure surpasses existing drug abusers for the first time. 

A total of 617,000 drug users were detected in the country in 2019, down 13.9 percent year-on-year. Among them, 223,000 were newly detected, 30,000 fewer than the previous year. 

Meanwhile, the report also shows a drop in large-scale drug production activities, and new characters of the illegal drug manufacturing activities, including miniaturized scales, scattered distribution and simplified the production process. 

A total of 290 cases of drug production were solved in 2019, with 173 drug factories closed and 2.7 tons of major drugs including meth and ketamine seized. 

According to the report, drug production capacity dropped substantially with the decrease in large-scale drug production, and some drugs being produced in family workshops and minivans. 

But the rise in new types of drugs makes it difficult to identify and investigate. The drugs are hidden in foodstuffs such as milk tea bags, chocolates, cookies, mushrooms, coke aand cigarettes. 

Global Times