The role of China in the illicit supply of new psychoactive substances

The growing new psychoactive substances (NPS) market has become a global concern that challenges existing drug law and policies, law enforcement, and public health. In contrast to traditional drugs, the range of NPS available on the market is diverse with new substances constantly emerging and evolving. This could largely be attributed to the role of China as a primary source of NPS and precursor chemicals with the growth of the Chinese chemical and pharmaceutical industry over the last few years and the weak regulation of NPS and precursor chemicals in China. To date, very little criminological research has been conducted investigating the role of China in the illicit supply of NPS; i.e. the illicit supply of NPS within China and the smuggling of NPS from China to other countries. This thesis aims to fill this research gap and seeks to contribute to academic and policy debates by investigating legal responses, supply patterns, and law enforcement relating to China’s NPS supply networks