International Opium Conference
The International Opium Conference led to the first international agreement on legal action against intoxicants . The decisive factor was the Opium Commission of 1909.
The participating states should do their best to strictly control all persons who produce, sell or import and export morphine and cocaine and related products, as well as the corresponding production facilities and sales points.
First international opium conference
The First International Opium Conference took place from December 1, 1911 to January 23, 1912 on the initiative of the USA in The Hague . In the Great Hall of the Hague , the representatives from Germany , the USA , China , France , Great Britain , Italy , Japan , the Netherlands , Persia , Portugal , Russia and Siam agreed on the text of an International Opium Agreement ( French Convention Internationale de l'opium , English International Opium Convention ), which was signed on January 23, 1912 and was also open to non-participants of the conference. From July 1 to 9, 1913 and from June 15 to 25, 1914, follow-up conferences were held at the same location to accompany the signing and ratification process. In 1915 the agreement was implemented by the USA, the Netherlands, China, Honduras , and Norway and became valid worldwide in 1919 as part of the Versailles Peace Treaty .
Second international opium conference
During another opium conference, a revised agreement was signed in Geneva on February 19, 1925 and entered into force on September 25, 1928. As a result, drugs such as heroin , cocaine and, at the urging of Egypt , cannabis were banned altogether.
India in particular had major problems with the treaty because of the widespread use of wild hemp fields as well as social and religious customs related to cannabis. A compromise was then reached that banned the export of cannabis only to countries that had banned its use, and allowed imports for medicinal or scientific purposes.
The signatory states had to increase surveillance for drugs in the medical field and tighten penalties for illegal trafficking. In 1929, a new opium law was passed in Germany, which was the basis of German drug policy until 1972. In 1961 the treaty was replaced by the standard convention on narcotics .
Web links
- International Opium Convention / Convention internationale de l'opium . (PDF; 1.1 MB) - Documents on the International Opium Agreement of January 23, 1912: Text of the agreement and final minutes of the conferences of 1911/12, 1913 and 1914 (English, French)