The government has announced that it has completed drafting amendments to Macau’s anti-drug law, proposing to add various substances to the law’s drug list, including seven analogues of etomidate*.
Etomidate is the primary active ingredient in a new illicit substance known by the street name “space oil”.
The law is officially titled the Law on the Prohibition of the Illicit Production, Trafficking and Consumption of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.
Etomidate and three of its analogues – metomidate, propoxate and isopropoxate – were added to the law’s drug list in June last year.
Secretary for Administration and Justice Wong Sio Chak and Judiciary Police (PJ) Director Sit Chong Meng announced the amendment bill during a press conference at Government Headquarters on Friday. Wong also serves as the spokesman for the government’s top advisory body, the Executive Council.
The bill will be submitted to the Legislative Assembly (AL) in due course for debate, review and vote, they said.
According to Wong, the government will request an urgent procedure for the bill’s debate and vote, meaning it will not be referred to any of the legislature’s standing committees for review before its final article-by-article debate and vote. Therefore, once the bill’s outline is passed during an upcoming plenary session scheduled by the legislature, its final article-by-article debate and vote will proceed immediately.
Wong noted that the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) passed a decision at a meeting last year to place an additional six substances under international control. These six substances are not currently listed in Macau’s anti-drug law, he said, prompting the local government to draft the amendment bill proposing their inclusion.
In addition, the amendment bill also proposes to list seven other analogues of etomidate in the anti-drug law, even though they are not yet under international control, after taking into account Macau’s particular circumstances. None of the seven substances is currently used for medical purposes, Wong said.
Although no cases involving the seven substances have yet been detected in Macau, given the risks and harm associated with their abuse, and the fact that they have already been scheduled in the Chinese mainland – with six of them also scheduled in Hong Kong – it is necessary for Macau to adopt preventive measures to control the risk of abuse and align with neighbouring regions, thereby safeguarding public health and the safety of residents’ lives, Wong added.
The press conference did not name the seven new analogues of etomidate.
*Etomidate is a short-acting intravenous anaesthetic commonly used for the induction of general anaesthesia and procedural sedation, owing to its rapid onset and stable cardiovascular profile. – Gemini
Secretary for Administration and Justice Wong Sio Chak (right) and Judiciary Police (PJ) Director Sit Chong Meng address Friday’s Executive Council press conference at Government Headquarters. – Photo courtesy of TDM
