China said Monday it would ban a designer drug called U-47700 and three others, following U.S. pressure to do more to control synthetic opioids blamed for fast-rising overdose deaths in the United States. In China, U-47700 has until now been a legal alternative to fentanyl and potent derivatives like carfentanil. The DEA has long said that China is the top source country for synthetic opioids like fentanyl and its precursors, assertions Beijing has said lack firm evidence. "The controlling of substances in China certainly saves lives in the U.S.," he added. In 2015 alone, there were 9,580 deaths due to synthetic opioids other than methadone, accounting for almost a fifth of all drug overdose deaths.

Source: ABC News June 19, 2017 04:36 UTC