China’s new restrictions on synthetic opioids take effect on May 1

New restrictions in China on the synthetic opioid fentanyl take effect on May 1. Pharmaceutical fentanyl was developed as a pain management treatment of cancer patients, but its powerful properties mean it’s a popular candidate for abuse.

The measures aim to plug the loopholes where manufacturers could avoid legal recourse by simply tweaking the drug.

Previously China placed restrictions on 25 fentanyl derivatives, four more than what the United Nations has in place. But starting May 1, China is cracking down on all types of the synthetic opioid, fentanyl, a strong and sometimes fatal drug. The new ban broadens its list of scheduled substances to cover the entire class of synthetic opioids, their analogues and precursors.

To enforce the new restrictions, China’s Narcotic Control Bureau under the Ministry of Public Security has laid out a number of concrete steps, including inspection.

Yu Haibin, division director at the bureau, told CGTN that the inspection will target those with the capability to produce the substance, including chemical industrial parks, bio-chemical parks, pharmaceutical companies, and R&D institutions. Online transactions of raw chemical materials will be closely monitored too.

Though criminals could develop tens of thousands of different varieties, Yu said based on basic molecular and atomic structures, officials will be able to identify these unknown derivatives.

Apart from inspection, the bureau will further cooperation and info-sharing with Chinese Customs and postal services, targeting specific ports and clearance zones, in a bid to build a triple line of defense to prevent fentanyl being trafficked overseas in parcels.

An OPP officer displays bags containing fentanyl as Ontario Provincial Police host a news conference in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada, February 23, 2017. /VCG Photo

An OPP officer displays bags containing fentanyl as Ontario Provincial Police host a news conference in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada, February 23, 2017. /VCG Photo

Fentanyl abuse has become a global problem in recent years, particularly in the U.S., where the number of overdose deaths has surged by 45 percent in last three years. The Trump administration has blamed China for contributing to its fentanyl crisis, claiming fentanyl is smuggled into the U.S. from China by mail, an allegation that China’s public security department adamantly denies.

Yu said a lack of supervision, prevalent drug culture, and over-prescription of opioid drugs are the main cause of America’s fentanyl crisis, namely the widespread abuse of synthetic opioids, which can be 50 times more powerful than heroin and are now the leading source of overdose deaths in the U.S.

Earlier Liu Yuejin, deputy director of China’s National Narcotics Control Commission, said at a press conference that China’s shipments of opioids to the United States were “extremely limited.” He also said, “If the United States truly wants to resolve its fentanyl abuse problem, it needs to strengthen its domestic work. Some people link drug consumption with freedom, individuality and liberation.”

Liu Yuejin, deputy director of China’s National Narcotics Control Commission at a press conference. /SCIO Photo

Liu Yuejin, deputy director of China’s National Narcotics Control Commission at a press conference. /SCIO Photo

In fact, China has been cooperating a lot with the U.S. in this area, specifically with its customs and immigration department, as well as its drug enforcement administration. In 2017, they worked together to solve a pair of trafficking cases.

“The trafficking of fentanyl drugs cannot be addressed by a single country alone. It is mostly transnational or cross-border crimes, through communications on the Internet and the dark web, transactions through bitcoin and money-gram, and transferred in international parcels,” Yu said.

This is why Yu said international cooperation is the only path to rein in fentanyl-related crimes. He believes tackling both the supply and demand side of the problem will bring a solution closer.

(Cover: Bags of drugs displayed on a table during a press conference held by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, August 23, 2018. /VCG Photo)

Read more: Infographic: Why is fentanyl dangerous?