Analysis and comparison of New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) Regulation in four regions of China: Lessons for global control

The regulation of new psychoactive substances (NPS) varies across countries and regions, and China's program provides important experience for global control of NPS. The aim of the study was to analyze the regulation of NPS in China and provide an important reference for global NPS control. This paper analyzes the legislation, scheduling methods, scheduling updates, and legal prosecution of NPS in China, and discusses improvements in the scheduling of NPS. A combination of individual listing with generic legislation is a feasible option for NPS scheduling. Taiwan regularly updates the scheduling of NPS every three months, and Hong Kong frequently updates the chemical parent nucleus and relevant substituent groups in generic legislation, both of which are valuable practices. The decriminalization of drug abuse imposes lighter penalties in mainland China, and it is also worth learning from the mandatory education programs for drug abusers on the harms of NPS in Taiwan. Taiwan and Macao have classified NPS, as they contend that it is more scientific to apply different penalties to different classifications of NPS. It is suggested that the global community adopt a combined approach of individual listing and generic legislation, regularly update NPS schedules, continuously update the chemical parent nucleus and relevant substituent groups in generic legislation, classify NPS, and apply different penalties, and implement mandatory education programs for NPS users.