Urgent to counter youth appeal of new types of designer drugs

Saturday was the annual International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. The China National Narcotics Control Commission, the country's top antidrug authority, instructed all antidrug departments in the country to launch publicity campaigns to mark the day and to keep young people away from new-type drugs.

Drugs are public hazards, and it has been a global consensus that the countries must strengthen cooperation to address the challenge.

Statistics from the Ministry of Public Security show China had about 1.8 million drug users as of the end of last year, declining for the third consecutive year. However, many new types of drugs are being designed with young people as their targeted consumers. It is urgent that the whole society is vigilant to this trend, and that young people's awareness is raised, so they take the initiative to say no to drugs.

Starting from Thursday, the number of controlled drugs in China will reach 449, which includes some new types of drugs that are easy to make and can be disguised as normal medicines or healthcare products. Out of curiosity, many young people might give them a try without knowing how addictive they are and the harm they can cause to their health.

There were a total of 1,047 kinds of known psychoactive drug substances in the world as of the end of 2020, among which 317 have emerged in China. Some of them have been classified as controlled drugs by different countries, as they are the raw materials for many such new types of drugs.

Apart from popularizing relevant knowledge, it is also necessary for the whole society to be wary of the trend that using such new drugs are being portrayed as cool and fashionable in popular culture among some young people, and the internet and social media are playing indispensable roles in the trading of the drugs and the spreading of such culture.

As such, the antidrug departments and internet administrative departments must take joint measures to prevent the internet from being exploited as a means to promote such unhealthy subcultures, and a platform for drug trading.

Beijing News