Current situation and characteristics on drug abuse in China

抄録

According to the statistics from the office of Chinese National Narcotic Control Commission (NNCC), the cumulative number of registered drug abusers in mainland China increased from 70 000 in 1990 to 1.55 million by the end of 2010. Heroin continues to be the most commonly abused drug. According to the data from NNCC, heroin abusers made up 69.0% of the total drug abusers in 2010. Recent epidemiologic survey shows that the heroin abuse has leveled off and may actually be declining in most provinces, autonomous regions and metropolis. However, the “synthetic drugs” or new emerging drugs which majority of that are the psychotropic substances such as “ice” (methamphetamine, MA), “shake-head pill” (MDMA or ecstasy), “K powder” (Ketamine) and “shake-head water” have penetrated into China through various channels since 2000. The first reported case of MDMA abuse we surveyed appeared in China in 1999. Since then, methamphetamine and MDMA and ketamine abuse have spread to disco clubs and public entertainment within the urban areas of major cities, and are rapidly epidemic in many areas. Our epidemiologic survey shows that ATS or new emerging drugs abuse produced multiple social, public health and individual consequences.