Trend analysis revealed that the drug problem in China is growing. Between 1991 and 2005, there was an average annual increase of 2,461 drug crime cases in China. The Chinese Government has adopted a series of countermeasures to combat the growing drug crime rate. Countermeasures include passing and revising laws and regulations, eradicating drugs and illegal cultivation of precursor plants, creating and expanding “drug-free communities;” and strengthening international cooperation. Despite the numerous countermeasures, drug problems in China are still very serious. Major challenges to combating drug problems include a lack of sufficient funds and other resources and a lack of scientific study of the drug problem. The authors note that in the 1950s the Chinese Government was successful in eradicating the significant opium problems in the country; the government now has a long way to go to overcome current drug problems. By 2005, the rate of drug crime in China was 4.15 times greater than the rate of drug crime in 1991. Major drug crime cases involving more than 10,000 grams of drugs are becoming a more frequent occurrence and the types of drugs within China are becoming more diverse. A degree of regionalization in drug crime distribution has been observed, with the southwestern region of the country emerging as a major hotspot for drug activity. Finally, drug crimes in China have taken on an international flavor as the smuggling and trafficking of drugs into China has formed a bidirectional cycle with the smuggling of precursor chemicals out of China. References