Comparison of drug abuse in Germany and China

Abstract

Drug abuse has a long, but also different history in Germany and China. The Opium War largely influenced the history of China in 19th century; however, China was once recognized as a drug-free nation for 3 decades from the 1950s to the 1980s. Drug abuse has spread quickly since re-emerging as a national problem in China in the late 1980s. The number of registered drug abusers increased from 70 000 in 1990 to more than 1 million by the end of 2005. In past decades, illicit drug trafficking and production have swept most provinces in China, and drug abuse has caused many problems for both abusers and the community. One major drugrelated problem is the spread of HIV, which has caused major social and economic damage in China. Germany, the largest developed European country, also faces the drug and addiction problem. Germany has about 150 000 heroin addicts, for whom HIV/AIDS has become a serious threat since the mid 1980s. To control the drug problem, the German Government adopted the "Action Plan on Drugs and Addiction" in 2003; the China Central Government approved a similar regulation in the antidrug campaign in 2005. Germany has experience in reducing drug-related harm. The methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) program has run for more than 20 years and the public has become more tolerant of addicts. In 2003, China began the MMT program for controlling the spread of HIV/AIDS. It is necessary for China to learn from developed countries to acquire success in its antidrug campaign. In this review, we will go over the differences and similarities in drug abuse between Germany and China. The differences are related to history, population and economics, drug policy context, drug laws, HIV/hepatitis C virus infection, the MMT program and so on. These 2 nations have drug abuse problems with different histories and currently use different approaches to handle illicit drug marketing and use. The legal penalties for illicit drug offences reflect the social differences of these 2 nations with respect to the seriousness of particular types of crimes. The characteristics of the MMT program may also influence patterns of drug abuse in these 2 nations and China should improve the MMT program based on the successful model in Europe, the USA, and Australia. We recommend more dialogue and collaboration between Germany and China. Key wordsdr u g a bu s e; m et ha d on e ma i nt en a n ce t r e a t m en t; he r o in ; H I V / AI D S ; h a r m reduction; comparison; Germany; China

Drug Abuse in China: Past, Present and Future

“…At the beginning, methadone was difficult to manufacture and only a few clinics had staff trained to administer the treatment. While Chinese MMT has proven to be safe and effective, long-term treatment regimens are still being piloted (Yu et al 2007;Shi et al 2007, in press;Michels et al 2007). The nation's first eight dedicated MMT clinics were set up in early 2004 and another 26 were completed later that year.…”

“…While China and western countries may find somewhat different approaches appropriate to their historically and culturally different drug abuse epidemics, it is to all nations' benefit to continue sharing successful models of drug abuse prevention and treatment (Michels et al 2007). …”

“…This success was linked to strict law enforcement and government policy separating China from western countries. With the recent re-establishment of the open-door policy toward western nations, the problem of drug abuse has re-emerged and spread in China again Michels et al 2007). To control the harm induced by drugs, such as the spread of HIV/AIDS and social crime, the Chinese government sought to implement multiple levels of intervention into the problem of widespread drug use.…”

“…Following the establishment of the People's Republic of China, the new Chinese government made an announcement in 1952 that the demon of drug abuse had been eliminated in the nation (Lowinger 1973(Lowinger , 1977Michels et al 2007). This success was linked to strict law enforcement and government policy separating China from western countries.…”

Effects of cannabinoid CB1 receptor antagonist rimonabant in consolidation and reconsolidation of methamphetamine reward memory in mice

“…It belongs to the type of amphetamine, a class of stimulant drugs, which is associated with a number of extremely serious negative health effects (Darke et al 2008). The prevalence of METH abuse has increased dramatically in many countries in recent years, which has resulted in serious health and social problems (Degenhardt et al 2008;Griffiths et al 2008;Maxwell and Rutkowski 2008;Michels et al 2007;Pluddemann et al 2008). The powerful rewarding effects of METH are thought to be attributed to multiple pharmacological actions, including the blockade of plasma membrane transporters of all monoamines, the suppression of dopamine transporter expression, and the inhibition of monoamine oxidase activity while increasing tyrosine hydroxylase activity (Kalivas 2007;Pulvirenti and Koob 1994;Treweek et al 2007;Vezina 2004).…”