Local drug users grow 10 percent a year

The number of drug users is growing by about 10 percent annually in Shanghai, which also is becoming a more important transit point for illegal drugs.

Last year, city officials dealt with 16,725 drug users and 3,080 drug-related cases involving suspects such as dealers and manufacturers.

"Drug users also are getting harder to catch," said Yang Lu of the police drug enforcement department. A decade ago, drug users often were found at bars and discos. Now, they have moved to more concealed places such as hotels, homes and cars, Yang said.

About 80 percent of users are on methamphetamines, a dangerously addictive stimulant. Users caught by police usually go into drug rehabilitation programs, Yang said.

Good transportation systems have attracted traffickers to the city, police said. "Shanghai is not so much a drug source, but it consumes drugs and has become a drug distributing center," Yang said.

Last year, 4.67 kilograms of drugs including methamphetamine, the depressant ketamine and marijuana were seized by local police.

Chemicals that can be made into illegal drugs also are monitored. "Once chemicals at crime scenes are traced back, the company where they came from will be punished," he said. The maximum punishment is a fine of 50,000 yuan (US$8,155) and loss of a business license.