The work found certain demographic characteristics common to most drug offenders suggests that the criminal sentences for drug traffickers are mostly significantly correlated with legal factors, with gender being the sole extralegal factor significantly associated with sentencing outcomes; and that a number of legal factors have a significant, direct, net impact on sentencing outcomes. The work analyzed the sentencing patterns of narcotics offenses in China and examined whether and to what extent sentencing decisions were affected by legal and extralegal factors. The article, focusing on evolving laws and policies pertinent to narcotics offenses in China, also notes that narcotics offenses have been surging since the economic reforms there, and as a response, laws and governmental decrees have been promulgated and revised to curb these emerging and changing crimes. In addition to providing the Chinese context related to narcotics offenses, the authors conclude with discussions of some theoretical and practical implications based on their research. Data were derived from published criminal court judgment documents of 362 cases, encompassing all 9 offense categories, with the majority as narcotics trafficking, and tried after 1978. As a caveat, these documents were not considered a random sample, and it is noted that generalizations to the national populace could not be made. Figures, tables, notes, and references