With Labs Pumping Out Legal Highs, China Is New Front in Global Drug War

Factories in China are rapidly manufacturing synthetic drugs, meant to mimic the effects of illegal substances like marijuana or cocaine. The drugs, untested for health and safety, are sold around the world labeled as bath salts or plant food. New to regulators, the substances remain legal until health issues, including deaths, are reported. The US Drug Enforcement Administration describes, according to Charlie Campbell writing for Time: a “new front in the drug war, shifting the front line from the Colombian jungles, Afghan hills and Winnebagos of New Mexico to the laboratories of Shanghai and other Chinese cities…. Suburban laboratories around Chinese port cities are the principle source, from where they can be easily shipped to Europe or North America using regular international courier services.” Slight adjustments to an illegal drug’s molecular structure confer new legal status, so technology can quickly roll out new, untested substances. In the United States, such drugs rank second in use by students after marijuana. Meanwhile, China imposes harsh punishments for drug crimes. – YaleGlobal