Illegal drug spending tops $82bn

Drug use and drug-related crimes are on the rise in China and users are spending billions on narcotics, according to a Beijing Times report.

Liu Yuejin, chief of the anti-drug bureau at the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), was quoted as saying China has 2.76 million documented drug users, three-fourths of which are younger than 35 years old.

The actual drug-using population is estimated to be no less than 13 million, according to Liu, and these users consume nearly 400 tons of narcotics and spend more than 500 billion yuan ($82 billion) on drugs each year.

This year has seen a surge in drug activity with 55,981 drug users - a year-on-year 52 percent growth - dealt with across the country in October. In the same month there were more than 10,000 drug-related crimes, including robberies, homicide and road accidents, and about nine tons of narcotics seized, reported the MPS.