International Opium Commission
Encyclopedia
The International Opium Commission was a meeting convened in 1909 in Shanghai
that represented one of the first steps toward international drug prohibition
. Dr. Hamilton Wright
and Episcopal Bishop Charles Henry Brent
headed the U.S. delegation. According to Release, "The formal designation of the meeting as 'commission' reflects the fact that the United States had been unsuccessful in its attempts to convene a 'conference': this latter status would have conferred upon the meeting the power to draft regulations to which signatory states would be bound by international law"http://www.release.org.uk/html/~The_Law/~Legal_History/1900_to_1939.php. The Commission was only authorized to make recommendations.
The meeting united the attending nations behind the cause of opium
prohibition, leading to the 1912 International Opium Convention
.
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
that represented one of the first steps toward international drug prohibition
Prohibition (drugs)
The prohibition of drugs through sumptuary legislation or religious law is a common means of attempting to prevent drug use. Prohibition of drugs has existed at various levels of government or other authority from the Middle Ages to the present....
. Dr. Hamilton Wright
Hamilton Wright
Hamilton Wright, United States Opium Commissioner, was born in Ohio in 1867. He graduated with first-class honors from McGill University in Montreal, in 1895. He served on the hospital at McGill for one year, then spent two years in China and Japan, studying scientific, social, and economic...
and Episcopal Bishop Charles Henry Brent
Charles Henry Brent
Charles Henry Brent was an American Episcopal bishop who served in the Philippines and western New York.Born in Canada and educated at Trinity College, Toronto, Brent was originally stationed at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in the South End of Boston, where he served as an associate priest...
headed the U.S. delegation. According to Release, "The formal designation of the meeting as 'commission' reflects the fact that the United States had been unsuccessful in its attempts to convene a 'conference': this latter status would have conferred upon the meeting the power to draft regulations to which signatory states would be bound by international law"http://www.release.org.uk/html/~The_Law/~Legal_History/1900_to_1939.php. The Commission was only authorized to make recommendations.
The meeting united the attending nations behind the cause of opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
prohibition, leading to the 1912 International Opium Convention
International Opium Convention
The International Opium Convention, signed at The Hague on January 23, 1912 during the First International Opium Conference, was the first international drug control treaty. It was registered in League of Nations Treaty Series on January 23, 1922...
.
See also
- Hampden Coit DuBoseHampden Coit DuBoseHampden Coit DuBose was a Presbyterian missionary in China with the American Presbyterian Mission and founder of the Anti-Opium League in China.-Career:...
American missionary founder of the Anti-Opium League in China