International Opium Commission
The International Opium Commission was a meeting convened on February 1 to February 26, 1909 in Shanghai that represented one of the first steps toward international drug prohibition.
History
[edit]Hamilton Wright and Charles Henry Brent headed the U.S. delegation. Brent was elected president of the commission.[1]
The meeting was designated a 'commission' rather a conference, although this was the preference of the United States. Having the status of a conference would have given it the power to draft regulations to which signatory states would be bound by international law"[1]. The commission was only authorized to make recommendations.
According to Paul S. Reinsch, the commission made these suggestions in its final resolution:
It is the duty of all countries to adopt reasonable measures to prevent the departure of shipments of opium to any country which prohibits its entry; that drastic measures should be taken by each government in its own territories to control the manufacture, sale, and distribution of the drug; that all governments possessing settlements in China shall take effective action toward the closing of opium divans in the said settlements.[1]
The meeting united the attending nations behind the cause of opium prohibition, leading to the 1912 International Opium Convention.
See also
[edit]- Hampden Coit DuBose, American missionary
References
[edit]- ^ a b Reinsch, Paul S. (1910). "Diplomatic Affairs and International Law, 19091". American Political Science Review. 4 (1): 51. doi:10.2307/1944408. hdl:2027/wu.89101141414. ISSN 1537-5943. JSTOR 1944408. S2CID 251094901.
External links
[edit]UK Drugs and UK Drug Laws: 1900-1939.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
