Official Report: Chinese Drug Users Younger, More Middle Class

For the first time ever, Chinese authorities have released a report on drug trade and abuse in China: the 2014 Drug Review Annual Report. The study looks into drug abuse, where the drugs are sourced, trafficking, and the overall situation surrounding illicit substances in China.

According to the review, the number of registered drug addicts has been rising. By the end of 2014 there were over 2.9 million drug addicts, half of whom are addicted to synthetic drugs. On top of that, over half are under the age of 35. Drug users are getting younger, the authorities say, and 49,000 addicts died last year, Ecns reports.

This number seems suspiciously low when compared to 2010 data fro America, where an alleged 23.5 million Americans were addicted to drugs or alcohol. Even accounting for the fact that China's report doesn't include alcohol addiction, apparent discrepancies arise when comparing China's population of 1.2 billion to America's 323 million.

As for where China's drugs are coming from, Liu Yuejin, who is with the Ministry of Public Security, says that South China is still the biggest source of drugs, whereas the biggest drug producing area abroad is the Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia, especially for methamphetamine.

"Domestically, the main sources for producing methamphetamine and ketamine are in Sichuan and Guangdong." These findings are supported by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, who have recognized the increasing dominance of the mainland in terms of synthetic-drug manufacturing.

Surprisingly, though, findings indicate that the drug abuse is spreading to China's new urban class, the South China Morning Post reports. "The drug abuse groups are gradually spreading from the unemployed, the self-employed, farmers and migrant workers in the past to employees of enterprises and institutions, freelancers, people in the entertainment sector and even civil servants."

The most high-profile arrest in the entertainment sector of recent memory was Jaycee Chan back in August of last year, who spent six months in a Beijing prison for smoking marijuana and sheltering his buddy and fellow weed enthusiast Kai Ko in his Dongzhimen residence.

The paper goes on to say that over 1,000 foreigners were busted in connection to drugs last year. Some of these raids included last summer's random drug testing at 2 Kolegas following the arrest of 30 drug dealers in Sanlitun, and the incident at one of Beijing's major international schools two months ago. Most foreigners busted for drugs were from areas such as West Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia.

Written by Margaux Schreurs

Photo: pullman-wa.gov