Fujian-based sportswear and footwear producer Qiaodan Sports Co said Thursday that it may sue Michael Jordan for malicious prosecution in a counterstrike against a lawsuit the US basketball star filed against it in February. If Qiaodan does decide to file a lawsuit, the charges would be “malicious prosecution, infringing upon the reputation of Qiaodan Sports […]

Yeah, stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Twenty-two school children and a villager were injured in a knife attack at the gate of a primary school in Central China’s Henan province Friday morning, according to local authorities. Local police said they had seized the suspect, a 36-year-old villager named Min Yingjun. The attack […]

Drug abuse has continued to decrease, particularly among youths, the Central Registry of Drug Abuse announced today.

At its quarterly meeting today, the Action Committee Against Narcotics reviewed the drug situation in the first three quarters of 2012.

Compared to the same period in the last year, the total number of reported drug abusers dropped by 5.1%, from 9,748 to 9,248, while the number of reported young drug abusers under 21 was down 18.4% from 1,664 to 1,357. There was also an 11.6% drop in the number of newly reported drug abusers, from 2,587 to 2,286.

Heroin remained the most popular for all drug abusers. However, there was a decline of 1.5% from 5,111 to 5,033 in the number of reported heroin abusers year-on-year.

Ketamine remained the most popular psychotropic substance abused. The number of reported ketamine abusers dropped 14.8% from 3,102 to 2,644, of whom 30.9% were aged under 21. Abuse of other types of psychotropic substances also dropped. However, there was a rise of 8% and 2% in the number of reported ice and cocaine abusers.

Action Committee Against Narcotics Chairman Prof Daniel Shek was pleased to see the continued decline in drug abuse. However, he expressed concern about its increasingly hidden nature.

"Consumption of psychotropic substances, which are prevalent among young drug abusers, is not easily noticeable. Early identification of youths troubled by drugs and offering them appropriate assistance are very important," Prof Shek said.

Commissioner for Narcotics Erika Hui said it was encouraging to see such continued improvements. However, she stressed the Government will continue to closely monitor drug trends, adopt relevant measures and enhance publicity efforts to address drug problems.