On the eve of the 39th International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking (June 26), in order to educate the general public on legal knowledge regarding the regulation of new types of drugs and to analyze the challenges in drug-related regulatory and judicial oversight, *Rule of Law Weekend* invited Attorney Tang Jianbin—Senior Partner at Beijing King&Capital Law Firm and Director of the King&Capital Environmental, Food, Drug, and Intellectual Property Law Research Center—for an exclusive interview. The discussion focused on professional interpretations of key issues, including the new policy for comprehensive control of 16 newly listed controlled chemicals such as telatamine, as well as the integrated governance system for youth involvement with new synthetic drugs. The full interview was published in *Rule of Law Weekend* on June 25, 2026.
(Original Article: *Rule of Law Weekend* | E-cigarettes Containing Telatamine Will Officially Be Classified as Narcotics—Strategies for Regulating and Governing Substances Addictive to Adolescents)
In this interview, Attorney Tang Jianbin analyzed the practical trade-offs involved in implementing nationwide uniform control measures for substances with legitimate uses, using three typical addictive chemicals—telatamine, pregabalin, and nitrous oxide—as examples; He systematically clarified the significant changes in administrative enforcement and criminal convictions for cases involving telethamine before and after the implementation of the new regulations on July 1, specifying that the sale and distribution of e-cigarettes containing telethamine will be directly subject to charges of smuggling, trafficking, transporting, or manufacturing narcotics, with harsher penalties for sales to minors.
Addressing the three major practical challenges in current judicial proceedings—quantification of drug quantities, the distinction between legitimate veterinary drugs and drug precursors, and unified identification standards—Attorney Tang Jianbin provided clear criteria for differentiation and approaches to evidence evaluation based on actual case examples; At the same time, addressing the high incidence of substance abuse among adolescents, he proposed establishing a full-chain legal mechanism encompassing “prevention—intervention—punishment.” This involves refining long-term governance solutions through campus screening, online regulation, interagency coordination, and tiered rehabilitation. He also recommended innovating systems for class-based control and temporary control to address the regulatory challenges posed by the rapid evolution of new psychoactive substances.
Attorney Tang Jianbin has long specialized in criminal legal services and compliance in the fields of environmental protection, food and drug safety, new types of drugs, and narcotic and psychotropic substances. In this exclusive interview, drawing on extensive practical experience with cases involving new types of narcotic and psychotropic substances and drug-laced e-cigarettes, he presented actionable legal strategies from four key dimensions—legislative balancing, administrative law enforcement, judicial conviction, and addiction treatment for adolescents—and clearly delineated the scope of application for the new regulations governing the control of telatamine.
“Rule of Law Weekend” is an in-depth analysis supplement published by “Rule of Law Daily,” the authoritative central media outlet on the rule of law. Published every Thursday, it focuses on hot topics in the rule of law and challenges in industry governance through in-depth research and exclusive interviews. Its news articles are characterized by professional analysis and authoritative reporting.
