Beijing police may compel all drug addicts in the city to take part in a year-long rehabilitation program ahead of next year's summer Olympics, a city official said.

"We do not rule out the possibility of forcing all drug addicts in the capital to give up their addictions before the Games," Fu Zhenghua, deputy director of the city's public security bureau, said at an anti-drug meeting on Tuesday.

First-time drug users will have their names recorded by police. If they are caught a second time, they will be considered addicts and sent to rehabilitation centres, according to the bureau.

Fu said the amount of time drug abusers must spend in rehabilitation programs might also be extended to a full year from the current six months.

Drug enforcement has been at the top of the city police's agenda since last year.

Police launched an anti-drug crackdown at the city's nightclubs, spas and karaoke bars in June, involving 18,000 police officers.

Bureau figures showed that by the end of last year, the crackdown resulted in the discovery of drug related crimes at 38 entertainment venues, 11 of which had their operating licenses suspended. Three of them were shut down.

Fu said police in the capital had achieved their goal of wiping out drug use in entertainment venues. In the interest of preventing a return of drug use, police said they would continue to watch over such venues.

Any venue found involved in drugs will receive heavy fines, be exposed in the media within 24 hours and face shutdowns lasting three to six months, police said.

Official figures show that the city's narcotics control authorities arrested 4,065 people on drug-related charges in the first 11 months of last year, and seized 249 kilograms of various drugs.

About 26,000 drug users were registered in the capital in 2005. Nationwide, there were 720,400 drug-users in China by the end of August last year.

China Daily-Xinhua

(China Daily 02/08/2007 page4)