On 24 June 2022, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) updated China’s combat against drug crimes at a press conference.
The following information disclosed in the press conference is noteworthy.
1. This is SPP’s 37th batch of guiding cases under the theme of “combat against crimes involving new drugs”.
New drugs, contrasted to conventional drugs, generally refer to drugs synthesized by chemical methods, namely drugs other than traditional opioids, marijuana, and cocaine. They include methamphetamine (i.e., “ice”) and state-controlled narcotic or psychotropic drugs.
In China, lawbreakers are increasingly inclined to manufacture, sell, and consume state-controlled narcotic or psychotropic drugs (i.e., “new psychoactive substances”) as drug substitutes.
2. From 2019 to March 2022, Chinese procuratorates prosecuted more than 160,000 people for crimes involving new drugs, including more than 150,000 people for methamphetamine and other drugs, and 18,000 for new psychoactive substances.
The number of drug crimes prosecuted by Chinese procuratorates decreased yearly, from 109,000 in 2019 to 75,000 in 2021. However, among these cases, the proportion of crimes involving new drugs increased rapidly, from 53% in 2019 to 57% in 2021.
Crimes involving synthetic cannabinoid drugs are also surging. Among the crimes involving new psychoactive substances, ketamine and phencyclidine take the highest proportion, accounting for 46% of the prosecutions.
Cover Photo by Andreas Felske on Unsplash
Contributors: CJO Staff Contributors Team
