Drug Cases Remind Industry to Strengthen Chemicals Management

The State Food and Drug Administration spokesman Yan Jiangxuan disclosed on December 8 that since April this year, the public security organs, the Food and Drug Administration and other departments have jointly detected and discovered and destroyed an alleged illegal trade in ephedrine-containing compound preparations. A large criminal group that sells drugs. At present, the "4.08" illicit case of illegally buying and selling drugs has been closed and transferred to judicial proceedings. At this point, the case involving a wide range of crimes, seizures of suspects, and the seizure of a large number of drug products successfully broke.
According to reports, at the end of March this year, the Yibin Food and Drug Administration of Sichuan Province received an inspection letter from the Food and Drug Administration of Jilin City, Jilin Province, asking for assistance in verifying whether Yibin Nanxi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. entrusted others to Jilin Weikang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Purchased 197 pieces of compound theophylline ephedrine tablets and whether the medicines had reached Nanxi County Pharmaceutical Company. Yibin drug administration department checked the flow of drugs and found that Nanxi County Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. did not have the records of the purchase and sale of the drugs. After an unannounced visit by the drug supervisors, it was discovered that the company’s warehouse had no such drugs, and the products were likely to flow into illegal channels. Afterwards, the public security and drug administration departments continued to inquire deeply on the clues of illegally embezzling, applying the legal qualifications of Nanxi County Pharmaceutical Co., fraudulently buying and selling ephedrine-containing compound preparations, and found and completely destroyed the allegations involving 21 provinces, cities and municipalities across the country. The huge criminal group that manufactures and sells drugs and illegally buys and sells poisoning products has destroyed five special drug trafficking gangs, seized 85 criminal suspects, smashed eight ephedrine illegal processing sites, eight methamphetamine processing plants, and seized ephedrine compound preparations. 44 tons, 415 kg of ephedrine, 955 grams of methamphetamine, and 18,209,000 yuan of drug resources.
It is understood that ephedrine is an important raw material for the production of methamphetamine. In China, ephedrine is included in the management of pharmaceutical precursor chemicals and is strictly regulated by the drug regulatory agency. At present, the production and operation of precursor chemicals for pharmaceuticals must be approved by the drug regulatory authorities; the single preparations of precursor chemicals for pharmaceuticals should be distributed by designated companies operating narcotic drugs and must not be retailed; the purchase of pharmaceutical precursor chemicals must be Approved by the drug regulatory authority; import and export, transport of pharmaceutical precursor chemicals must be approved by the relevant departments.
Yan Jiangyun said that these strict practices have effectively standardized the production, management and use of pharmaceutical precursor chemicals in China. Criminals do not get ephedrine from these channels and instead turn to the idea of ​​containing ephedrine compound preparations. Compound preparations containing ephedrine are very common daily medications and even some non-prescription medications. Unscrupulous elements through a large number of fraudulent purchases and purchases of ephedrine-containing compound preparations, and then purify ephedrine, and then go to the manufacture of methamphetamine.
To this end, the State Drug Administration Department puts ephedrine-containing compound preparations as the subject of strict supervision. Since 2007, the State has stepped up sales verification of ephedrine-containing compound preparations and effectively standardized sales channels for ephedrine-based compound preparations. At the same time, on the basis of safeguarding the needs of the public for drug use, scientific approval of the purchase of raw material drugs will be implemented, and the total production of ephedrine-containing compound preparations will be reasonably controlled. When the company sells ephedrine-containing compound preparations, it must strictly verify the buyer's qualifications, issue bills in accordance with the regulations, strictly implement the verification system for outbound warehouses, prohibit cash transactions, and restrict retail sales.
The success of the “4.08” project was smashed and the criminal activity of illegally trading ephedrine-containing compound preparations for the manufacture of methamphetamine was severely cracked. However, the current situation of drug abuse and drug control is still severe. Yan Jiangqi stated that the drug regulatory authorities at all levels must strictly investigate and punish various violations of laws and regulations. The inspection and discovery of drug sales and production enterprises that contain ephedrine compound preparations in violation of relevant regulations shall be strictly investigated and dealt with in accordance with laws and regulations. Enterprises that have taken ephedrine compound preparations into illicit channels shall be revoked their pharmaceutical production licenses or pharmaceutical business licenses, and will be transferred to public security organs for enterprises suspected of having violated the criminal law.
In order to strengthen the management of precursor chemicals, standardize the production, operation, purchase, transportation, import and export of precursor chemicals, and prevent precursor chemicals from being used in the manufacture of drugs, China formulated the “Easy” in 2005. The Regulations on the Control of the Production of Poisonous Chemicals clearly prohibits the smuggling or illegal disposal of precursor chemicals. The regulations listed the varieties of precursor chemicals and ephedrines were included in the first category of precursor chemicals with the highest degree of supervision. Since 2007, China has successively issued the “Guidelines for the Approval of the Purchase of Ephedrine Raw Material Drugs” and the “Notice on Practically Strengthening the Sale Management of Some Compound Drugs Containing Special Pharmaceuticals” to further strengthen the circulation of the ephedrine compound preparations. Supervision.