Illicit Drug use in the Asia Pacific Region - Burnet Institute

Situational analysis of illicit drug issues and responses in the Asia–Pacific region
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Arrest and seizure data
In 2003, 8652 people were arrested for drug
offences, of both dangerous and other drugs,
a decrease of 8 per cent when compared
with 2002 . Major drug offences, including
manufacturing, trafficking or possession of
large amounts, accounted for 2827 arrests .
Since 1993 there has been an overall decline
in the number of persons arrested for drug
offences . Both major and other drug offences
among young people have also declined in
recent years (Narcotics Division, 2004c) .
Seizures of illicit laboratories in recent years
have included two crack cocaine laboratories
in 2001, two cocaine laboratories in 2002,
and in late 2004 police discovered a fish
farming raft used as a cocaine factory in
which 400 litres of the diluted drug was on
board (China Post, 2004a; United Nations
Office on Drugs and Crime, 2004b) . In 2003,
customs at the land boundary crossing with
mainland China arrested 12 drug couriers
with heroin seizures ranging from 100 grams
to 1–2 kilograms . Overall, 42 .16 kilograms
of heroin was seized in 2003, a decline from
105 .59 kilograms in 2002 . In 2003, three
heroin cutting centres were dismantled by the
police and overall arrests in relation to heroin
were down around 5 .2 per cent compared to
2002 (Narcotics Division, 2004c; China Post,
2004a; United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime, 2004b) .
Ketamine has become the most used drug
amongst young people, closely linked to
the popular rave/dance party music scene in
Hong Kong . The number of arrests linked
to ketamine declined in 2003 but was still
1770 persons . Seizures of ecstasy-type tablets
(sometimes containing a mixture of ketamine
and methamphetamine) substantially
increased from 48,840 in 2002 to 142,912
tablets in 2003 . In 2003, seizures of herbal
cannabis amounted to a total of 233 kilograms
while methamphetamine, mainly in crystalline
form but sometimes in liquid form, amounted
to a total of 38 .64 kilograms . Cocaine seizures
in 2003 amounted to 6 .63 kilograms, slightly
down from 8 .30 kilograms in 2002 . Seizures of
medicinal preparations proved substantial in
2003: midazolam (39,331 tablets), chlordiazepoxide
(40,050 tablets), diazepam (29,856
tablets) and triazolam (13,390 tablets) . In
2003, overall reported seizures of depressants
in Hong Kong amounted to 633 kilograms
(Narcotics Division, 2004c; United Nations
Office on Drugs and Crime, 2004, 2004b) .
Crop studies and crop eradication statistics
Hong Kong is not a known producer of opiates
or cannabis .
A4 .4 Drug-taking practices,
risk factors and trends
Data from the Central Registry of Drug Abuse
in 2003 show that, among heroin users, injection
was the preferred method (54 .9%),
followed by fume inhalation (42 .3%) and
smoking (14 .4%) . Among the younger users
of heroin, 66 per cent inhaled, 26 per cent
injected and 17 per cent smoked (Narcotics
Division, 2004a, 2004c) .
Several studies have examined general
behaviours and associated risks . A study that
recruited participants from methadone clinics
found that, of the 668 subjects, 51 .2 per cent
injected and, of 200 admitting to injecting
in the previous week, most injected 5 .8 times
per week . Of 351 clients, 14 .8 per cent had
shared injecting equipment at one stage,
and of this percentage 20 per cent had
done so in the past 1–3 months . Of the 686
participants, 78 (11 .4%) had injected drugs
in mainland China; of this group, 23 clients
had done so within the last three months
(Wong et al ., 2003) . Voluntary blood donors
have been examined for any HIV-related
behaviours and, of the 2162 participants in
the past 12 months, only 1 .4 per cent of
male respondents reported sharing a drug
injecting syringe with others (Lau, Thomas
& Lin, 2002) .
Of increasing concern was mainland China’s
growing HIV/AIDS problem in which at least
nine provinces were experiencing localised
epidemics among IDUs, including Guangdong
Province, which abuts Hong Kong .
Guangdong has a substantially large number
of drug users although estimates of the
injecting population are not available . There
are high rates of needle sharing among IDUs
in mainland China (Benitez, 2002) . In 1999,
over 90 per cent of the 267 HIV notifications
in Guangdong Province were among IDUs
(Lin et al ., 2000) .
Mobility of drug users travelling from Hong
Kong into mainland China began in the
late 1990s and continues to grow . In 2000,
researchers found that, of a street drugusing
population, 16 per cent of participants
crossed the border into mainland China in
search of cheaper drugs (Ch’ien, 2000) .
More recently a quantitative survey of
6420 participants aged 18–30 years found
that 20 per cent had used drugs in mainland
China in the past 12 months . Lower
prices, peer influences and better availability
of drugs in mainland China explained
this drug-seeking behaviour . The most
commonly used drugs were ecstasy (80%),
ketamine, cannabis, methamphetamine and
heroin (11% for males and 8% for females) .
Of those using drugs in this survey, many
believed law enforcement measures in mainland
China were less stringent and up to
80 per cent believed they had no chance or
were at low risk of being arrested in mainland
China due to drug use . The majority
consumed alcohol prior to taking illicit drugs
and sexual activities were common following
drug consumption: information on the use
of condoms was not described (Lau, 2003) .
With a high level of human traffic between
Hong Kong and mainland China, those individuals
who practise high-risk needle sharing
and risky sexual behaviours constitute factors
that will potentially spread HIV/AIDS inside
Hong Kong (Chan & Lee, 2004) .
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Country profiles: Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region, China)