Advertisement
China Insider

New | 17-year-old girl arrested in Jiangxi after posting photos of herself snorting ketamine online

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Photo posted online showing ketamine use in a Jiangxi nightclub. Photo: Weibo

A 17-year-old girl from China’s Jiangxi province has been detained by police after posting online photos of herself and a group of friends snorting the illegal drug ketamine.

After a popular nightclub in Xinyu, a prefecture-level city of around 1.3 million people, had its business licence suspended for six months as part of a crackdown on drugs and prostitution in the city, a series of photos of young women snorting ketamine and dancing in a private room went viral online.

According to a post on the official microblog of the Xinyu City Public Security Bureau, a 17-year-old surnamed Wang was detained on October 4 after the photos were brought to the authorities’ attention. She admitted posing for the photos in April of this year.
Advertisement
Chinese authorities have taken a hard approach to drug use in recent months. In September, Jacky Chan’s son Jaycee and Taiwanese actor Ko Chen-tung were arrested on suspicion of “accommodating drug users” after being caught smoking cannabis in Beijing.
Advertisement

Ketamine (K fen) is a popular club drug on the mainland, where it is consumed in much the same way as cocaine is in the West, despite the two drugs’ very different effects on users. Originally developed as an anaesthetic, ketamine can cause hallucinations and mild-euphoria when taken at low does, or a dissociative state similar to an out-of-body experience – referred to as a “K-hole” – when consumed in large amounts.

Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x