Drug Abuse on the Rise in Beijing

The number of drug users in Beijing is steadily climbing, police announced at a press conference on Tuesday.

There are currently 33,000 registered drug users in the city. Over the past five years this number has climbed an average of 12.3 percent each year, Xinhua reports.

According the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau drug abusers are also getting younger. Sixty-two percent of drug users in the capital are under the age of 35. The youngest offender was found to be 12 years old.

The police have solved roughly 5,700 drug-related cases during the past 10 years. However, despite their efforts crime is still on the rise.

To help quell the problem, police in the capital have set up ‘drug control teams’ around the city. These teams are typically made up of police, social workers, families of drug addicts, trained medical workers and other community members.

[Image via Reuters]