Both the American TV series “Breaking Bad” and the real Chinese criminal case of Zhengbo Zhang feature a key scenario: professionals using their chemistry expertise to manufacture and sell controlled psychotropic substances. This presentation explores four critical issues:

1. Should controlled psychotropic medications automatically be classified the same as illegal drugs?

2. How should we legally classify the abuse of new psychotropic substances that aren’t yet on controlled substance lists?

3. When it comes to new drug precursors, how do we address criminals who evade regulations by slightly modifying the chemical structure of controlled substances to create unregulated substances?

4. How can we address the clinical needs of Chinese patients who require access to foreign-approved medications containing controlled psychotropic substances?