International Opium Commission

Beginning in the early twentieth century, more and more people realized the dangerous nature of opium and its derivatives, and a worldwide effort was established to try to control the growing and selling of opium. The first attempt came in 1909 when the International Opium Commission convened for the first time. The commission was the first international congress on opium and its alkaloids. While only 13 nations attended and the actual results were minor, the meeting was significant because it put opium on the map as a worldwide problem. 

Narcotics abuse was not, of course, confined to the United States. In 1909 the International Opium Commission had its first meeting. Two years later an international treaty banned the distribution of narcotics except under medical supervision. 

The International Opium Commission meets to discuss ways to stop drug trafficking. Two years later a treaty signed at The Hague requires signatories to limit the use of narcotics to specific medical purposes. Meanwhile, the United States bans the importation of smoking opium. 

Most of the participants did not share the United State s zeal for prohibiting the nonmedical use of opium, since they had a vested interest in protecting their profits from this commodity. Britain, for example, feared that the suspension of the Indian opium trade would lead to an unbalanced budget. However, the attitude of the U.S. delegates at the meeting was that a worldwide prohibition of habit-forming drugs needed to be enacted. Despite the lack of enthusiasm by most of the participants, the commission did resolve that each country should take drastic internal measures to... 

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