White-collars increasingly using illegal drugs
By Jiang Zhuqing (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-09-21 05:49

At yesterday's conference, the ministry also publicized a series of cases that have been cracked by police since January.

For example, Jilin Pharmacy Co Ltd in Northeast China's Jilin Province was found to be illegally selling triazolam, a prescription drug for mental diseases, in bulk.

From March 1 to May 27, the company sold 1.514 million tablets of triazolam and raked in 167,000 yuan (US$20,600) in profit, reports said.

Four suspects have been arrested and 947,000 tablets recovered, Liu said.

Police and the local food and drug administration confiscated the illicit income, fined the company 1.67 million yuan (US$206,000), and ordered it to stop production, according to reports.

The abuse of triazolam, usually prescribed as a short-term remedy for insomnia, can lead to hypnosis or abrupt fainting, said Gu Weiping, an official with the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA).

Starting from March 1, triazolam has been listed by the SFDA as a Class A mental-illness drug, with rigid controls on production, sale and consumption, said Gu.

New regulations on narcotics and mental-illness drugs will come into force on November 1, said the official.

At the same time, a nation-wide campaign against "new drugs" used in entertainment venues was launched this month and will run until November, according to the ministry.