Do not eat candy or snacks from strangers, do not drink a beverage that has left your sight, and do not take a vape cartridge someone hands you

Today's drugs do not look like drugs. A "high" e-cigarette mixed with synthetic cannabinoids looks much like an ordinary e-cigarette, and some people specifically hand them out to try in bars, KTVs, and hotels. Tricking someone into using them brings detention of 10 to 15 days plus a fine. Using them yourself also brings detention. Someone who was tricked into using them can get a lighter penalty, or none. If a drink has left your sight, get a new drink.

Cost

No cost. Do not take anything that is handed to you. If your own cup has left your sight, get a new drink.

Benefit

Today's drugs do not look like drugs. Synthetic cannabinoids have been controlled as a whole class since July 1, 2021, and the whole class is regulated as drugs. Some people mix them into vape liquid and make "high" e-cigarettes. In a case reported by the Supreme People's Procuratorate, investigators described this liquid as something that "can be turned into all kinds of colors and flavors by adding food coloring" and that is "basically the same in appearance as an ordinary e-cigarette." Sellers gather people in bars, KTVs, and hotels to push it and induce others to use it. In that report, among the drug-use cases handled locally that year, minor users were nearly 40%. Etomidate has been listed in the catalog of category II psychotropic substances since October 1, 2023. Tricking someone into using drugs is itself 1 grade of illegality. Whoever lures, abets, deceives, or forces another person to ingest or inject drugs is detained for 10 to 15 days and fined 1000 to 5000 yuan. If it constitutes a crime, the sentence is up to 3 years; if the circumstances are serious, 3 to 7 years; if force is used, 3 to 10 years; and if the target is a minor, the penalty is heavier. Whoever ingests or injects drugs is detained for 10 to 15 days and may be fined up to 3000 yuan. In a lighter case, detention of up to 5 days or a fine of up to 1000 yuan. If the person used drugs only because they were coerced or tricked, the same law provides "a lighter penalty, a mitigated penalty, or no penalty." They may also be ordered at the same time not to enter entertainment venues for 6 months to 1 year. If addicted, they are ordered into community drug rehabilitation for 3 years. If they refuse community rehabilitation, or use again during rehabilitation, they are sent to compulsory isolated detoxification for 2 years, which can be extended by up to another 1 year (nationwide, the Public Security Administration Punishments Law, from January 2026).

Notes

This is not only entertainment venues. The same applies at a school gate, at a gathering of friends, and on a long-distance bus. It is the same whether what is offered is candy, a drink, or a vape cartridge. Being drugged is often followed by robbery, sexual assault, and extortion. There are no published official statistics on that part. It is a judgment from experience. If a drink has left your sight, getting a new drink is much simpler than trying to pursue it afterward. For what to do when someone in the venue produces an unknown powder, tablet, or cartridge, see item 3 of this section. For carrying things for someone else, see section 8, item 29.

Sources · 4

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