Drug situation and drug combating in China: trends and opportunities to strengthen international cooperation by the example of the SCO

Abstract

In recent years, the drug situation in China has generally stabilized, and according to official Chinese statistics, the number of drug addicts is reducing. However, China remains one of the key sources of synthetic drugs and precursors to other countries. The spread of narcotic drugs (synthetic opioids, cannabinoids, methamphetamine and others) threatens all countries. An important factor is that the Chinese government is able to control the large number of pharmaceutical manufacturers in the country , thus making it difficult for new types and modifications of drugs and psychoactive substances to appear on the market. In recent years, the PRC leadership has taken a number of effective steps to combat the uncontrolled production and distribution of illegal drugs, in particular, the state tightens control and regulation of the production of synthetic psychoactive drugs. China has strict laws against drug trafficking, which also serve as an effective deterrent against the distribution and consumption of illicit substances. Due to these measures, the international drug business is forced to move laboratories for the production of synthetic drugs from China to other nearby countries such as Myanmar and India. The situation with the international drug trade in the modern world requires concerted action at the interstate level. The interaction between law enforcement agencies of the SCO (the Shanghai Cooperation Organization) member states is a good example of cooperation in this area. One of the priorities of this organization is the fight against drug crime. At this stage, it is necessary to further deepen cooperation between the law enforcement agencies of the SCO countries to identify established drug trafficking channels, fight against drug trafficking in the dark web and prevent the emergence of analogues to various psychotropic substances prohibited by law.

Keywords

• china
• russia
• sco
• drug trade
• synthetic drugs
• drug trafficking
• national security