International Opium Convention (1912)

Signed at The Hague by representatives from 13 nations, the International Opium Convention of 1912 was the first international treaty to generate laws aimed at the regulation of the global supply and distribution of narcotics. Featuring representatives from China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Persia (now Iran), Portugal, Russia, Siam (now Thailand), the United Kingdom (UK), and the British Overseas Territories, the primary aim of the Convention was to generate international policy regarding the manufacture, use, and distribution of opium, heroin, and morphine.

The 1912 Hague Convention was designed to readdress issues first identified in the February 1909 Shanghai Opium Commission. Led by the U.S. government and presided over by Philippines-based Episcopal Bishop Charles Henry Brent, the Shanghai Commission was formed to inspect both the ...