Fighting fentanyl abuse: China's new restrictions on synthetic opioid

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New restrictions on the synthetic opioid fentanyl mean changes for China's drug laws. Those caught with the drug face serious consequences once the new measure takes effect.‍

All fentanyl-related substances will be added to a supplementary list of controlled narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances with non-medical use in China, the Ministry of Public Security, the National Health Commission and the National Medical Products Administration announced in a joint statement at a press conference on Monday, after four months of reclassification procedures.

The decision will take effect on May 1.

The new measures place restrictions on 25 fentanyl derivatives, four more than the United Nations have in place.

The reclassification process also includes studying how to minimize the potential impact of the new measure on legal usage of fentanyl, such as being a painkiller for anesthesia, a chemical in industrial development and scientific research.

This comes after Chinese President Xi Jinping reached an agreement with U.S. President Donald Trump during last year's G20 summit to take proactive steps to combat illicit drugs, including fentanyl.

Drugs, especially new-type ones represented by fentanyl-related substances, have been abused in some countries, resulting in a large number of deaths and serious social problems.

The move by the Chinese government is not only an important measure to prevent and tackle the risks and harms brought by new-type drugs, and secure people's physical and mental health, said Liu Yuejin, deputy director of the China National Narcotic Control Commission, but also reflects China's commitment to global drug governance and safeguarding world security and stability.

Liu Yuejin, deputy director of the China National Narcotic Control Commission, speaks at a press conference in Beijing, China, April 1, 2019. /SCIO Photo

China will also speed up the formulation of a series of normative documents for fentanyl-related criminal cases, as well as the construction of a relevant monitoring system and research labs, to comprehensively improve the level of monitoring, early warning, on-site investigation, detection and identification, and hazard assessment of new-type drugs.

The action will "completely plug the loopholes where criminals can evade legal sanctions by simply modifying atoms, functional groups or groups to develop new varieties," Liu said.

Fentanyl is an essential ingredient in laboratory drugs. It is easy to derive different variants called "fentanyl analogs." Just 0.02 grams of a fentanyl analog is enough to kill an adult. As such, fentanyl has been targeted by international traffickers and become a vital ingredient for them to develop new drugs.

(Cover via VCG)