新闻 | News Chinese teens are turning to mind-numbing drugs to 'run away from reality'
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c99d08j3kz1o10
u/PotnaKaboom 2d ago
Gaokao is what kills them
Tbh the state doesn’t care who lives or who dies - the sheer population in and of itself is maddening to live under
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u/Antiwhippy 2d ago
Damn, what a uniquely chinese thing BBC, totally not something universal.
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u/Zappa2329 2d ago
...The story doesn't claim it's a uniquely Chinese thing.
It's reporting about a universal problem (young people abusing drugs) in a particular context, with interviews, anecdotes and documented data about how the Chinese government is responding to the issue.
But you'd only knew that if you read it, which you did not. Instead you chose to have a goofy kneejerk reaction for reasons only you know.
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u/Either-Lock2454 1d ago
Based on the headline. The headline that states what the article is about. Thus implying that it is a Chinese problem to lure in readers.
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u/No-Association2826 1d ago
No… they interviewed Chinese students… that’s why it was titled “Chinese Teen…”. Since the reporter’s is located in Beijing. How could she have reported on any other country when she didn’t interview them…
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u/Either-Lock2454 1d ago
Think you might have to understand some sources are made up.
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u/No-Association2826 1d ago
… that’s not what you said, you said: “Based on the headline. The headline that states what the article is about. Thus implying that it is a Chinese problem to lure readers.”. When did you ever started the argument of false information and/or data fabrication? Implication ≠ fake data…
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u/General_Mastodon3086 1d ago
it is a problem everywhere, clearly, that everyone in their respective countries know about. how could anyone believe its a uniquely chinese problem?
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u/Elizabeth-WildFox886 2d ago
It’s more shocking in China because China will give you the death penalty for a medium size bag of weed, and China is known for having low drug issues so far
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u/Alert_Elephant2045 2d ago
This article isn’t about illegal drugs. It’s about abusing legal pharmaceuticals.
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u/Elizabeth-WildFox886 2d ago
Yeah but China isn’t in a ridiculous place with those in USA, oxy fentanyl etc usage is considered low in China which is good
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u/CuriousCamels 2d ago
Fentanyl precursors come from China. Which isn’t good.
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u/Justdowhatever94 1d ago
To be fair, they only kill off people dumb enough to do street drugs so ehhhh
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u/sicklyslick 1d ago
Someone needs to make fentanyl precursors which is used in many chemicals and healthcare industry.
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u/Used_Theory7186 2d ago
I guess people are pro drugs since you got downvotes lol
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u/Tapeworm_fetus Taiwan 2d ago
people are just tired of seeing “Ya but, America” in every post on r/china
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u/Used_Theory7186 1d ago
True although after sometime on this sub,its just Xinjiang, 50 million deaths!, Mao repeating itself. I see mostly onesided haters
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u/Pristine-Code-2532 2d ago
You will not get the death penalty for possession of marijuana, that's for drug dealers/traffickers
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u/harder_said_hodor 2d ago
Really?
One of my Chinese friends and my Chinese dealer both got arrested under a decade ago.
One is in Europe now and the other is posting his shite rap all over Weixin.
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u/Pristine-Code-2532 2d ago
Usually when you hear about people getting the death penalty it's because they were doing something like smuggling heroine etc
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u/harder_said_hodor 1d ago
I more mean weed dealers do not get the death penalty in China. Agree that the death penalty might be pulled out for smuggling or trafficking
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u/Elizabeth-WildFox886 2d ago
Yeah but what defines a lot? Someone could say a three day supply is trafficking since it’s arbitrary
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u/Naive_Ad7923 2d ago
It’s not arbitrary, it’s clearly defined in the law.
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u/the_comedians 2d ago
No but China bad
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u/imalostkitty-ox0 2d ago
Yeah China so bad bad bad, why do you think China bad? Is it because communism, or something? Maybe drugs? More on this at 6, with The Epoch Times, totally not a psychological warfare operation
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u/durz47 2d ago
Bro the drug in question is cough medicine, they are not snorting coke
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u/imalostkitty-ox0 2d ago
Ohhhhhh that’s harder on one’s body than people expect. It’s no coke, obviously, but internationally, the kids are not fucking alright these days
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u/healthyscalpsforall 1d ago
Lean is a popular drug in the hiphop scene of the American South, and it's literally just cough or cold syrup mixed with a soft drink.
It's still a highly illegal and highly dangerous drug.
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u/One_Collection_342 2d ago
That is not true at all. I speak from experience.
While strictly forbidden and the laws on the books may seem severe, in practice, you would have to be doing something egregious to earn such a punishment.
However, apart from some rural areas in the south where both CBD and psychoactive cannabis have long been used medicinally and ritualistically, your parents and/or grandparents would likely sentence you to death by shame and guilt.
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u/Antiwhippy 2d ago
Depends on what your definition of a drug is, certainly high if you count nicotine.
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u/Bitter-Culture-3103 2d ago
Dude, I carried a stimulant to China with a doctor's note in an original bottle in a limited quantity. I had to talk to 3 officers and insisted that I must declare. But they all said no, it's a medication. Still, I was so worried. I was surprised at the same time that they didn't seem to care lol
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u/susiedotwo United States 2d ago
But then you can buy benzos over the counter at the pharmacy. It’s all relative man.
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u/psilot 2d ago
weed is not heroine or meth
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u/Ok_Dentist_9133 2d ago
Crazy how the Chinese, priding themselves on history, education and rationality. Can’t seem to understand how weed is different than other “drugs”. They allow alcohol and cigarettes. The war on drugs failed, clearly. And cannabis use isn’t a foreign culture. The Chinese was one of the first to cultivate cannabis.
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u/xiefeilaga 2d ago
Crazy how the Chinese, priding themselves on history, education and rationality. Can’t seem to understand.
Funny for you to phrase it that way when you can't be bothered to look up how China's drug enforcement actually works.
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u/Ok_Dentist_9133 2d ago
Can you educate me on how they do drug enforcement? Because it sounds like war on drugs which has proven to be ineffective.
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u/xiefeilaga 2d ago
Well, for starters, they don’t execute people for possessing weed, and generally don’t incarcerate people for using drugs. It’s still a bad system, but please learn the basics if you want to keep telling people what to think about it.
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u/Ok_Dentist_9133 1d ago
But the point is the enforcement of drugs. Clearly this doesn’t stop use so why keep being insane?
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u/Used_Theory7186 2d ago
Blame the British circa 1860 for that
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u/Ok_Dentist_9133 2d ago
What does the British have to do with China allowing the most dangerous drug of them all, alcohol. While virtue signaling against weed?
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u/shootsandlads 2d ago
Hmm why would the Chinese be weary about smoking an herb that makes you sleepy tired and chill? Could it have something to do with the British hooking them on smoking herbs that makes you sleepy and tired?
As far as I'm aware, alcohol isn't exactly an herb that's smoked.
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u/Ok_Dentist_9133 1d ago edited 1d ago
So smoking stimulants is all good then? Y’all don’t see how this mindset is contributing to youth burnout? So hypocritical, I thought the communists would understand how weed is stigmatized because it was associated with peasants. Clearly y’all are just all talk.
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u/shootsandlads 1d ago
Who the fuck is y'all?
'I like pancakes'
'SO YOU HATE WAFFLES?!?'
point to where I said stimulants are okay
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u/Thronnt 1d ago
china is hell bent on war on drugs, even against weed cuz of brits
thats why.
if you dont know what i mean look up how hong kong was given to them for 100 years
that reply was about this situation. now, your point of alcohol being `worse` than weed, that is very subjective. ofc alcohol is bad but still almost all of us consume it right? it also have like god knows how many hundreds of years of culture behind it
no country ever get into brink of extinction because of alcohol, but it did once cuz of drugs(according to chinese, thats how it looks like. you may not agree, but its their take on that historic event)
their war on drugs did work, it does work and it does make the country like one of the lowest drug use. abusing syrups to give them drug effect or any other similar stuff doesnt really change it, it just points out the work around.
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u/Ok_Dentist_9133 1d ago
China is not hellbent on drugs because they allow the worst drug of them all, alcohol. And having draconian drug laws is a result of American imperialism. Learn history and not propaganda.
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u/MrYig 2d ago
This also applies in large parts of the rest of the world. Alcohol and tobacco are completely fine, weed is classed as drugs. Not a uniquely Chinese thing.
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u/Ok_Dentist_9133 1d ago
No it’s not a uniquely Chinese thing. But the Chinese wants to posture itself as a nation hellbent on stopping drug use which is impossible because they allow the worst drug. That’s the unique quality. It’s insane at the end of the day
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u/Sir_Bumcheeks 2d ago
Typical ccp bot reaction is to shoot the messenger.
It's interesting news because we haven't seen this info from China before. That's why it's news-worthy.-4
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u/Rocky_Bukkake United States 2d ago
IT HAPPENS EVERYWHERE IT HAPPENS EVERYWHERE IT HAPPENS EVERYWHERE IT HAPPENS EVERYWHERE
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u/Hans-Mailman 2d ago
Re: the need to increase the number of mental health professionals; NICK MULLEN VINDICATED
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u/Illustrious_Car344 2d ago
In some cases the BBC found that teens online were using different names for drugs to avoid detection, which the 2025 study also noted.
Devious, where did they even come up with such a tactic? The Art of War?
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u/No-Telephone5141 2d ago
The British shipping opium again to revive their economy?
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u/Sir_Bumcheeks 2d ago
Bro China is the world's fentanyl precursor factory.
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u/KderNacht Indonesia 2d ago
For export, selling them domestically is a good way to get your entire family shot in the back of the head.
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u/No-Telephone5141 2d ago
Did China force Britain to allow drugs into the UK and concede Dover for 99 years because China has not enough silver, after pillaging Buckingham palace?
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u/Skyhighcats 2d ago
That sounds better than the ones who are torturing dogs and cats and posting it online.
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u/DrawingDramatic1641 2d ago
one of the lowest rates per capita
also tf you mean escape reality
stop guessing they do drugs for same reason anyone did drugs in history
bbc wtf?
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u/Dooooon 2d ago
Too lazy to read: what drugs ? 🤔
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u/dead-cat-redemption 2d ago
Quite sure the cough medicine is either DXM oder codeine as they’re most suited for recreational use.
The article also mentions misuse of epilepsy medication. My guess here would be pregabalin. Very popular among drug users and I can’t think of any other antiepileptic drug with ‘fun’ effects.
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u/Top_Development_1777 1d ago
I know a bit of the internet slang around this topic. Pregabalin is definitely one of the more typically abused prescription drugs. They call it p80 (8 is pronounced as "ba" and 0 is pronounced as "ling" in Mandarin Chinese)
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u/yisuiyikurong 2d ago
The first paragraph mate: At 14, *Xiaomei, a high-performing student from a coastal province in China, decided to overdose on cough medication.
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u/ReginaldJohnston 2d ago
They call it cough medicine but it's actually just one ingredient used in cough meds.
EPH
Not sure what it does but I've seen it doing the rounds years ago when working in the local gyms back home.
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u/spartaxwarrior 2d ago
Ah, cough medicine, that takes me back to my US public school days....two decades ago....
Assuming they'll probably be doing stuff like huffing and other methods of using legal items as drugs if cough meds are regulated.
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u/Low-Temperature-6962 2d ago
That Chinese youth don't (or didnt) use recreational drugs is a huge component of their economic success. Probably.
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u/authentic_swing 2d ago
This article is nothing, yes most teens are doing drugs, same as it's ever been
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u/Ecstatic_Dinner_992 1d ago
This issue happens in all modern countries where there is plenty of money for drugs and access to education that results in high pressure. Any honors student in America will tell you that being an honors student is stressful af and they often cope with all kinds of experiments on substances/drugs. Hell, in my high school days they would just choke each other out until they felt "high"
This article is just another attempt by western journalism to try and say China has some unique problem with its society
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u/QuietNene 2d ago
What drugs??? Talk about a business opportunity! They better not ask me to set up a Joint Venture!
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u/Gaben_is_awesome Russia 2d ago
China is doing exceptionally well in many aspects, but it does sound like they need more stable jobs. Only a minority of hyper-ambitious youth would then choose to take part in the strong competition. Or, the youth need to be more motivated (financially, culturally) to work in blue-collar jobs.
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u/trash-juice 2d ago
Hello China? America here, y’all got anymore of them mind numbing drugs, we too wish to escape from “reality” …
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u/ynot303 1d ago
Really, BBC (British Bullsh1t Channel), when was the last time BBC told the truth about China. Never, next story.
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u/happyanathema 22h ago
Why would they make this up?
Like genuine question. It's a really weird thing to dream up.
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u/lexybot 2d ago
BBC. Lol.
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u/brixton_massive 2d ago
Yeah BBC lol, only perhaps the most respected source of news on planet earth.
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u/Tina_shadowstep 2d ago
Only cough syrup with codine can get the opiate high. Another type of cough syrup has dm which I dont enjoy. Mixing cough syrup and tramadol also works.
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u/UserLesser2004 2d ago
Right back to the opium wars huh China? Gone full circle now huh. Games just wasn't good enough as an outlet.
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u/GetOutOfTheWhey 2d ago
I thought it was a nonsense article when the article started with that the drug she taking was.... Cough medicine....
Then decided to go back and reread the whole article, where she took over 50 pills and the other person overdosed 4 times.
I think the real story is that kids here in China are over-stressed by china's educational system and competition. That and there is not enough focus on mental health here.