News:1997-03-14/Policy/revised-criminal-law-adds-a-dedicated-chapter-of-drug-offences-covering-illegal-cultivation-of-cannabis-and-op

News record14 March 1997Policy

Revised Criminal Law adds a dedicated chapter of drug offences covering illegal cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy

The 8th National People's Congress adopted a revised Criminal Law containing a dedicated chapter of twelve drug offences, among them illegal cultivation of narcotic source plants including cannabis. The criminal-liability provisions of the 1990 Decision were absorbed into the new code, while the Decision's administrative-penalty provisions were retained. Cannabis is named in the definitional articles but is given no gram or plant-count threshold of its own, remaining within an undefined category of other drugs. Published quantity thresholds for cannabis oil, resin and leaf did not follow until a Supreme People's Court interpretation in 2000.

Read the source report

More news from China

• 29 Jul 2026Shizuishan police eradicate six wild cannabis plants across two districts during drone-assisted patrols, Ningxia
• 1 Jul 2026Urumqi authorities eradicate 200,000 wild cannabis plants on a hillside in Midong District, Xinjiang
• 17 Jun 2026National Narcotics Control Commission publishes the 2025 China Drug Situation Report, recording 15,000 registered cannabis users
• 26 Apr 2026Guangdong police intercept a cargo vessel at sea and seize 735 kg of cannabis on a South China Sea route
• 14 Feb 2026Lincang police seize nearly two tonnes of cannabis seed and report an Inner Mongolia to Yunnan trafficking chain
• 3 Dec 2025Guangzhou Customs intercepts cannabis declared as coffee and cannabis seeds concealed in clothing

maintained by landrace.wiki editors · page history

Date14 Mar 1997

CategoryPolicy

CountryChina

Agency全国人民代表大会 (National People's Congress)

Coordinates39.90, 116.41

Coordinates are approximate.

Source report

1997-03-14 Policy Revised Criminal Law adds a dedicated chapter of drug offences covering illegal cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy The 8th National People's Congress adopted a revised Criminal Law containing a dedicated chapter of twelve drug offences, among them illegal cultivation of narcotic source plants including cannabis. The criminal-liability provisions of the 1990 Decision were absorbed into the new code, while the Decision's administrative-penalty provisions were retained. Cannabis is named in the definitional articles but is given no gram or plant-count threshold of its own, remaining within an undefined category of other drugs. Published quantity thresholds for cannabis oil, resin and leaf did not follow until a Supreme People's Court interpretation in 2000. http://gongbao.court.gov.cn/Details/96fea4e0b9e00def2295a1e598666f.html China 全国人民代表大会 (National People's Congress) 39° 54' 0.00" N, 116° 24' 36.00" E administrative seat