The drug problem is related to national security, the rise and fall of the nation and the well-being of the people. It is the consistent position and firm proposition of the China government to strictly control drugs. In the past 20 years, faced with the severe challenge of the rapid development and spread of the drug problem, the China government has always attached importance to drug control, insisted on incorporating drug control into the economic and social development plan as an important part of national security and social stability, mobilized all social forces, took all necessary measures, and tried its best to ban drugs and benefit the people.
In recent years, especially since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee, the State Council and local party committees and governments at all levels, all relevant departments in various regions have adhered to source management, systematic management, comprehensive management, and legal management, and insisted on taking multiple measures to prohibit planting, trafficking, and smoking. Through unremitting efforts, China’s drug control struggle has achieved remarkable results.
Mobilize all forces to form a new pattern of comprehensive drug control
Since the late 1990s, the drug situation has become increasingly severe and complicated. Faced with this situation, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council have made a series of strategic decisions to strengthen drug control work, and the responsibility system, leadership system, working mechanism and guarantee mechanism for drug control work have been gradually established and improved, forming a new pattern of comprehensive drug control with unified leadership of governments at all levels, organization and coordination of drug control committees, respective responsibilities of relevant departments and extensive participation of social forces.
In 1990, the Government of China established the National Narcotics Control Committee composed of 25 departments, including the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Health and the General Administration of Customs, to study and formulate important policies and measures in drug control, coordinate relevant major issues, and lead the national drug control work in a unified way. In 1998, the State Council approved the Ministry of Public Security to set up an anti-drug bureau. Since the national people’s war against drugs was launched in 2005, according to the development and changes of the drug problem in China, the State Council has repeatedly adjusted and enriched the member units of the National Narcotics Control Committee to meet the needs of the anti-drug struggle. At present, the number of member units of the National Narcotics Control Committee has reached 38, and working groups on anti-drug publicity and education, anti-drug investigation information, and drug prohibition and detoxification have been established.
Adhere to drug control according to law and gradually improve the legal system of drug control.
The government of China attaches great importance to the construction of the legal system of drug control, constantly speeds up the pace of drug control legislation, and has formulated and promulgated a series of laws and regulations. The legal system of drug control has been gradually improved, and drug control according to law has become the guiding principle of drug control work.
From the 1970s to the 1990s, the China Municipal Government successively promulgated the Criminal Law, the Customs Law, the Regulations on Administrative Penalties for Public Security and other laws and regulations. On June 1st, 2008, China’s first law comprehensively regulated drug control — — People’s Republic of China (PRC) Anti-drug Law was formally implemented. As a book summarizing China’s experience in drug control for many years and absorbing the essence of international drug control legislation, it provides legal guarantee for comprehensively strengthening drug control work under the new situation, and China’s drug control work has thus entered a new historical stage of comprehensive promotion according to law.
At present, a system of anti-drug laws and regulations has been formed at the national level in China, with the Criminal Law, the Anti-drug Law, the Regulations on Drug Rehabilitation, the Regulations on the Management of Precursor Chemicals and the Regulations on the Management of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances as the main body, and local governments have successively formulated a series of supporting laws and regulations, providing a powerful legal weapon for the anti-drug struggle.
Contain drug sources and crack down on drug crimes.
China’s anti-drug department has always maintained the trend of cracking down on drug crimes, improved the three-dimensional prevention and control system of land, sea and air mail, and innovated the methods and means of drug enforcement, which severely cracked down on and effectively deterred drug crimes.
First, vigorously strengthen source blocking and interception to effectively curb the source of drugs. The anti-drug department of China has continuously improved the "three lines of defense" of blocking the first line of the border, checking the second line of the mainland and cutting the main roads, airports, stations and docks, forming a three-dimensional prevention and control system covering the main land, sea, air and postal routes.
Second, we will continue to carry out special anti-drug campaigns and effectively strengthen investigation and solving cases. Since the people’s war against drugs was launched, a series of special actions such as "pulling out nails" have been organized against foreign drug lords, and a large number of serious cases have been successfully cracked, and more than 80 domestic and foreign drug lords and important drug dealers, including Liu Zhaohua, Han Yongwan, Cai Aishan and Zhong Wanyuan, have been arrested.
The third is to comprehensively deepen the key rectification of drug control and effectively solve the prominent drug problem. By stepping up efforts to rectify drug trafficking and drug-related problems of special groups, 38,900 drug traffickers were arrested nationwide in 2015 alone. By using satellite remote sensing technology, the "Tianmu" series of drug shoveling operations were continuously carried out, and it was found that the illegally planted opium poppy was completely eradicated. Since the people’s war against drugs was launched in 2005, more than 1 million drug-related crimes have been cracked, 1.15 million drug suspects have been arrested and 751 tons of various drugs have been seized.
Prevention education is given priority to, and people’s awareness of drug control is generally improved.
The Anti-drug Law of People’s Republic of China (PRC) defines the policy of "prevention first" in anti-drug work, and stipulates the anti-drug publicity and education in a special chapter.
Public security, education, civil affairs, judicial administration, culture, trade unions, the Communist Youth League, women’s federations and other departments insist on taking teenagers, unemployed people and migrant workers as the focus of anti-drug publicity and education, create rich carriers of brand education activities, organize anti-drug publicity activities covering the whole year with the national anti-drug publicity month in June as the focus, and promote anti-drug publicity and education into communities, schools, units, families, places and rural areas.
At present, China has established 9 national demonstration bases for drug prevention education, more than 20 provincial anti-drug education bases, more than 700 anti-drug social organizations and more than 1 million anti-drug volunteers. The annual growth rate of newly discovered heroin users has dropped from 13.7% in 2008 to 6.6% in 2013.
Advocating people-oriented, actively educating and saving drug addicts
In view of the serious harm caused by drug abuse to drug addicts, their families and society, we have comprehensively used legal, administrative, economic, educational and medical means to control the drug problem, and education has saved a large number of drug addicts.
At present, 57 drug rehabilitation places have been built in China, and 95,000 drug rehabilitation personnel have been resettled, which has played a positive role in ensuring people’s livelihood and maintaining social harmony and stability.
In recent years, China has made great efforts to promote community detoxification and community rehabilitation, with towns and streets as the main body, relying on the masses and communities, mobilizing social forces, developing anti-drug social workers, and vigorously implementing the "August 31" community detoxification and community rehabilitation project. In the past five years, 27,000 community drug rehabilitation and community rehabilitation offices have been established nationwide, with 27,000 full-time drug control social workers and 68,000 part-time social workers. A total of 950,000 person-times of community-based drug rehabilitation have been carried out nationwide, and more than 1.2 million people have given up drug addiction for more than three years.
Strictly prevent illegal loss and strengthen the control of precursor chemicals
Proceeding from the fact that China is a big producer and exporter of chemicals, the national drug control department has earnestly implemented the 1988 United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.
Over the years, China has always attached importance to the "two-way investigation" in border areas and entry and exit ports, which not only prevents drugs from entering the country, but also prevents precursor chemicals from being smuggled out of the country. At the same time, an international verification system for the import and export of precursor chemicals has been established jointly with the United Nations anti-drug agencies and relevant national authorities, and a management information system for precursor chemicals has been established, which has implemented information management for the production, operation and circulation of precursor chemicals. Over the years, China has actively participated in Operation Purple, Operation Topaz and Operation Prism carried out by the United Nations anti-drug system, and cooperated closely with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to further strengthen the international verification of precursor chemicals exported by key varieties and countries.
Since the People’s War against Drugs, more than 23,000 tons of precursor chemicals and non-regulated chemicals have been seized through strict investigation, and 20,500 tons of precursor chemicals have been prevented from being exported through international verification.
Actively fulfill international conventions and make contributions to the world drug control cause.
The Government of China has always attached importance to international cooperation in drug control, and, as a responsible big country, has always followed the principle of "extensive participation, shared responsibility, comprehensive and balanced drug control strategy, and emphasis on alternative development" put forward at the twentieth special session of the General Assembly on drug control, and earnestly implemented international drug control conventions.
Actively promote regional bilateral and multilateral drug control cooperation. The Government of China has hosted many important multilateral international conferences, continuously deepened the mechanism of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on drug control cooperation in Greater Mekong Subregion, the mechanism of "ASEAN+China" on drug control, the mechanism of Shanghai Cooperation Organization on drug control, and the mechanism of BRICS countries on drug control, and actively demonstrated China’s influence in the international drug control field.
Actively promote law enforcement and security cooperation in Mekong River Basin. In close cooperation with relevant countries, the case of "October 5" Mekong River was successfully solved in 2011, and naw kham, the first offender of the "Golden Triangle" mega-armed drug trafficking group, and key members were arrested. Leading the establishment of a law enforcement and security cooperation mechanism in the Mekong River Basin of China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand, and continuing to carry out joint anti-drug operations to jointly crack down on transnational drug crimes and completely destroy criminal groups that have long endangered the security of this basin.
Actively carry out foreign law enforcement training, equipment and material assistance exchange and alternative development. China has gradually developed from a recipient country to an annual donation of US$ 1 million to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and has trained nearly 2,000 drug enforcement officials for Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and other countries within its capacity.