Draft law orders bars, nightclubs ordered to report drug takers to police

Chinese lawmakers have begun debating a draft anti-drug law that would require entertainment venues such as nightclubs to report drug takers to police.

The draft, the first specifically designed to crack down on drug use, requires owners of entertainment venues such as pubs, karaoke bars and nightclubs to post anti-drug notices on their premises.

Anyone found taking drugs in the places must be immediately reported to both police and cultural authorities, it said.

In Beijing, police had confiscated more than 180 kilograms of methamphetamine and ecstasy pills by May this year.

Chen Qiang, head of the anti-drug unit of the Beijing public security bureau, said that entertainment venues where drug trafficking and taking are reported will be targeted in a special crackdown to be launched soon.

The names of the venues where drug taking is detected will be made public and owners prohibited from running such businesses, he said.

The bill will also help build a drug-free entertainment environment for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, he added.

According to the Ministry of Public Security, China is estimated to have 785,000 drug takers and more than 700,000 of them heroin addicts. The use of methamphetamine -- commonly known as "ice" -- is becoming more widespread.

Zhang Xinfeng, vice minister of public security, said Tuesday in a briefing to lawmakers of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress that the goal of the law is to protect younger people, particularly those under 18, from drugs. He said 70 percent of drug takers are under the age of 35.

The bill outlaws opium, heroin, marijuana, methamphetamine, morphine, and cocaine.

Source: Xinhua