The Macao government is making progress on a bill that should see the emerging drug “space oil” criminalised by the end of the year. Consumed by vaping, space oil is known to cause seizures, loss of consciousness, memory issues and, in extreme cases, death.
According to the Macau Daily Times, the pledge was made by the Office of the Secretary for Security, in response to a written inquiry from lawmaker Ella Lei. Lei had requested a timeline of legislation relating to the regulation of vaping and related substances in Macao.
Officials say drafted legislation would see recreational use of the short-acting anaesthetic etomidate and three similar compounds – medetomidine, propylparaben and isopropylparaben – become drug offences once the law is enacted by the end of 2025.
Etomidate is already strictly regulated in the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Hong Kong officially listed it and its analogues as dangerous drugs in February.
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Since then, trafficking or illicitly manufacturing any of them is punishable by a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of HK$5 million, according to its Security Bureau’s Narcotics Division.
Unprescribed possession or consumption can be punished with up to 7 years’ jail time and a fine of HK$1 million.
The Times also reported that the Macau Customs Service had seized 269 electronic cigarettes and 22,121 cartridges and vape oils between January and November last year.
It noted that the Social Welfare Bureau had launched a Pilot Programme for the Detection of New Drugs back in 2023, to assess the abuse risk of substances not yet being controlled in Macao. Preliminary data from 2024 indicated that etomidate accounted for 3.4 percent of all positive urinalysis tests.
