International Opium Convention Signed at The Hague, January 23, 1912

His Majesty the German Emperor, King of Prussia in the name of the German Empire; the President of the United States of America; His Majesty the Emperor of China; the President of the French Republic; His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Emperor of India; His Majesty the King of Italy; His Majesty the Emperor of Japan; Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands; His Imperial Majesty the Shah of Persia; the President of the Portuguese Republic; His Majesty the Emperor of All the Russias; His Majesty the King of Siam
being desirous to take- one step further in the way marked out by the Inter-national Commission at Shanghai in 1909;
resolved to pursue progressive suppression of the abuse of opium, morphine, cocaine as well as drugs prepared or derived from these substances giving rise or which may give rise to analogous abuses;
taking into consideration the necessity and the mutual profit of an inter-national understanding on this point;
being convinced that they will meet in this humanitarian effort the unanimous adhesion of all the nations interested,
have resolved to conclude a Convention for this purpose and have appointed as their Plenipotentiaries, to wit:
His Majesty the German Emperor, King of Prussia:
His Excellency Mr. Felix de Muller, His present Privy Counsellor, His Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at The Hague;
Mr. Delbruck, His Superior Privy Counsellor;
Dr. Grunenwald, His Counsellor of Legation;
Dr. Kerp, His Privy Counsellor, Director at The Imperial Health Office; Dr. Rossler, Imperial Consul at Canton.
President of the United States of America:
Bishop Charles H. Brent;
Dr. Hamilton Wright;
Mr. H. J. Finger.
His Majesty the Emperor of China:
His Excellency Mr. Liang Cheng, His Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at Berlin;
The President of the French Republic:
Mr. Henry Brenier, Inspector of the Agricultural and Commercial Services of Indo-China;
Mr. Pierre Guesde, Administrator of the Civil Services of Indo-China.
His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
and the British Dominions Beyond the Seas, Emperor of India:
The Right Honorable Sir Cecil Clementi Smith, G.C. M. G., Member of the
Privy Council;
Sir William Stevenson Meyer, K.C.I.E., Chief Secretary of the Government of Madras;
Mr. William Grenfell Max-Muller, C.B., M.V. O., His Counsellor of Embassy; Sir William Job Collins, M.D., Deputy Lieutenant of the County of London. His Majesty the King of Italy:
His Excellency Count J. Sallier de la Tour, Duke of Calvello, His Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at The Hague.
His Majesty the Emperor of Japan:
His Excellency Mr. Aimaro Sato, His Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Pleni-potentiary at The Hague;
Dr. Tomoe Takagi, Engineer of the General Government of Formosa;
Dr. Kotaro Nishizaki, Technical Specialist attached to the Laboratory of Hy-gienic Service.
Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands:
Mr. J. T. Cremer, Her Former Minister of the Colonies, President of the Dutch Commercial Company;
Mr. C. Th. van Deventer, Member of the First Chamber of the States General; Mr. A. A. de Jongh, Former Inspector General and Chief of the Opium Regie Service in the Dutch Indies;
Mr. J. G. Scheurer, Member of the Second Chamber of the States General; Mr. W. G. van Wettum, Inspector of the Opium Regie in the Dutch Indies. His Imperial Majesty the Shah of Persia:
Mirza Mahmoud Khan, Secretary of the Persian Legation at The Hague. The President of the- Portuguese Republic:
His Excellency Mr. Alexandre Savinsky, His Master of Ceremonies, His present Counsellor of State, His Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at Stockholm.
His Majesty the King of Siam:
His Excellency Phya Akharaj Varadhara, His Envoy Extraordinary and Min-ister Plenipotentiary at London, The Hague and Brussels;
Mr. Wm. J. Archer, C.M.G., His Counsellor of Legation.

Who after having deposited their full powers which have been found to be in good and due form are agreed to that which follows:

CHAPTER I
Raw opium

Definition. By raw opium shall be understood:
The spontaneously coagulated sap obtained from capsules of the soporific poppy (Papaver sorcmiferum), and which shall not have been subjected to any but the processes necessary to the packing and the transportation thereof.

Article 1
The Contracting Powers shall enact efficacious laws or regulations for the control of the production and distribution of raw opium, unless existing laws or regulations have already regulated the matter.
Article 2
The Contracting Powers, taking into account the differences in their trade conditions, shall limit the number of towns, ports or other places through which the importation or exportation of raw opium shall be permitted.
Article 3
The Contracting Powers shall take measures:
a. to prevent the exportation of raw opium to countries which shall have prohibited the entry thereof, and
b. to control the exportation of raw opium to countries which shall have limited the importation thereof,
Unless existing measures have already regulated the matter.
Article 4
The Contracting Powers shall issue regulations to provide that every package containing raw opium destined for exportation shall be marked in such a manner as to indicate its contents, providing the consignment shall exceed 5 kilograms.
Article 5
The Contracting Powers shall not permit the importation and exportation of raw opium except through duly authorized persons.

CHAPTER II
Prepared opium

Definition. By prepared opium shall be understood:
The product of raw opium obtained by a series of special processes, par-ticularly by dissolution, boiling, heating and fermentation, and which is meant to be made into the form of an extract suitable for consumption.
Prepared opium comprises dross and all other residues of smoked opium.

Article 6
The Contracting Powers shall take measures for the gradual and efficacious suppression of the manufacture, the internal traffic in and the use of prepared opium in so far as the different conditions peculiar to each nation shall allow of this, unless existing measures have already regulated the matter.
Article 7
The Contracting Powers shall prohibit the importation and exportation of prepared opium; however, those nations which are not yet ready to prohibit
932    THE OPIUM PROBLEM
the exportation of prepared opium at once, shall prohibit such exportation as soon as possible.
Article 8
The Contracting Powers whidi are not yet prepared to prohibit at once the exportation of prepared opium:
a. shall limit the num.ber of towns, ports or other places through which it shall be possible for prepared opium to be exported;
b. shall prohibit the exportation of prepared opium to the countries which now prohibit, or which shall later prohibit the importation thereof ;
c. shall prohibit, in the meanwhile, that any prepared opium be sent to a country which desires to limit the entry thereof, unless the exporter shall con-form to the regulations of the importing country;
d. shall take measures to the effect that each package exported containing prepared opium shall bear a special mark indicating the nature of its contents;
e. shall not permit the exportation of prepared opium except through the agency of persons especially authorized.
CHAPTER III
Medicinal opium, morphine, cocaine, etc.
Definitions. By medicinal opium shall be understood:
raw opium which shall have been heated to 60 degrees centigrade whether or not powdered or granulated, or whether or not mixed with neutral substances, and which shall not contain less than 10% of morphine.
By morphine shall be understood:
the principal alkaloid of opium, expressed by the chemical formula C.711,,NO. By cocaine shall be understood:
the principal alkaloid of the leaves of Ergthroxylon Coca, expressed by the formula CHHaN04.
By heroin shall be understood:
morphine-diacetylate, expressed by the formula CnHaN05.
Article 9
The Contracting Powers shall enact pharmacy laws and regulations in such a way as to limit the manufacture, the sale and the use of morphine, cocaine and their respective salts to medical and legitimate uses only, unless existing laws or regulations have already regulated the matter. They shall cooperate amongst themselves in -order to prevent the use of these drugs for any other purpose.
Article 10
The Contracting Powers shall use their best efforts to control, or to cause to be controlled all those who manufacture, import, sell, distribute and export morphine, cocaine and their respective salts, as well as the buildings where such persons exercise that industry or that commerce.
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To this end, the Contracting Powers shall use their best efforts to adopt or to cause to be adopted the following measures, unless existing measures have already regulated the matter:
a. to limit the manufacture of morphine, cocaine and their respective salts to the premises and localities alone which shall have been authorized to this effect or to keep themselves infortned as to the establishments and places where such drugs are manufactured, and to keep a register thereof ;
b. to demand that all those who manufacture, import, sell, distribute, and export morphine, cocaine, and their respective salts shall be provided with an authorization of a license to carry on these operations, or shall make an official declaration thereof to the competent authorities.
c. to demand of these persons that they register on their books the quantities manufactured, the importations, the sales or any other transfer and exportations of morphine, cocaine and their respective salts. This rule shall not apply neces-sarily to medical prescriptions and to sales made by duly authorized phar-macists.
Article 11
The Contracting Powers shall take measures to prohibit in their internal com-merce all transfer of morphine, cocaine and their respective salts to all non-authorized persons, unless existing measures have already regulated the matter.
Article 12
The Contracting Powers, taking the differences in their conditions into account, shall use their best efforts to limit the importation of morphine, cocaine and their respective salts, to authorized persons.
Article 13
The Contracting Powers shall use their best efforts to adopt, or cause to be adopted, measures to the end that the exportation of morphine, cocaine and their respective salts from their countries, possessions, colonies and leased terri-tories to the countries, possessions, colonies and leased territories of the other contracting powers, shall not take place except in ease the persons for whom the drugs are intended shall have received authorizations or permits granted in conformity with the laws or regulations of the importing country.
To this end every government may from time to time communicate to the governments of the exporting countries lists of the persons to whom authoriza-tions or permits to import morphine, cocaine and their respective salts shall have been granted.
Article 14
The Contracting Powers shall apply the laws and regulations for the manufac-ture, importation, sale or exportation of morphine, cocaine and their respective salts:
a. to medicinal opium;
b. to all preparations (official and non-official including the so called anti-opium remedies) containing more than 02% of morphine or more than 0.1% of cocaine;
934    THE OPIUM PROBLEM
c. to heroin, its salts and preparations containing more than 0.1% of heroin;
d. to every new derivative of morphine, cocaine or their respective salts or to any other alkaloid of opium which might after generally recognized scientific investigations give rise to similar abuse and to result in the same injurious effects.
CHAPTER IV
Article 15
The Contracting Powers having treaties with China (Treaty Powers) shall take, on concert with the Chinese G-overnment, the measures necessary for the pre-vention of the smuggling, as well with respect to Chinese territory as with respect to their colonies in the Far East and the leased territories which they occupy in China, of raw and prepared opium, morphine, cocaine and their respective salts, as well as of the substances indicated in article 14 of the present Con-vention. On its side the Chinese Government shall take analogous measures for the suppression of the smuggling of opium and the other substances hereinbefore indicated, from China to foreign colonies and leased territories.
Article 16
The Chinese Government shall promulgate pharmacy laws for its subjects, regulating the sale and distribution of morphine, cocaine and their respective salts and of the substances indicated in article 14 of the present Convention, and shall communicate these laws to the Governments having treaties with China, through the intermediary of their diplomatic representatives at Pekin. The Contracting Powers having treaties with China shall examine these laws, and, if they find them acceptable, shall take the necessary measures to the end that they be applied to their nationals residing in China.
Article 17
The Contracting Powers having treaties with China shall undertake to adopt the measures necessary for the restraint and control of the opium-smoking habit in their leased territories, "settlements" and concessions in China, for the sup-pression pari passu with the Chinese Government of the opium divans or similar establishments which may still exist there, and for the prohibition of the use of opium in houses of amusement and of prostitution.
Article 18
The Contracting Powers having treaties with China shall take effective meas-ures for the gradual reduction, pari passu with the effective measures which the Chinese Government shall take to the same end, of the number of shops, in-tended for the sale of raw and prepared opium, which may still exist in their leased tenitories, settlements and concessions in China. They shall adopt efficacious measures for the restraint and control of the retail trade in opium in the leased territories, settlements and concessions, unless existing measures have already regulated the matter.
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Article 19
The Contracting Powers who have post-offices in China shall adopt efficacious measures to prohibit the illegal importation into China, in the guise of a postal package, as well as the illegal transmission from one locality to another in China through the intermediary of these post-offices, of opium, whether raw or pre-pared, of morphine and of cocaine and their respective salts, and of other sub-stances indicated in article 14 of the present Convention.
CHAPTER V
Article 20
The Contracting Powers shall examine into the possibility of enacting laws or regulations making the illegal possession of raw opium, prepared opium, mor-phine, cocaine and their respective salts liable to penalties, unless existing laws or regulations have already regulated the matter.
Article 21
The Contracting Powers shall communicate to each other, through the Nether-lands Ministry for Foreign Affairs:
a. the text of the laws and the administrative regulations in existence which concern matters aimed at by the present convention or enacted by virtue of its clauses;
b. statistical information with respect to that which concerns the traffic in raw opium, prepared opium, morphine, cocaine and their respective salts, as well as all other drugs or their salts or preparations aimed at by the present Convention.
These data shall be furnished with as much detail and in as short a time as shall be deemed possible.
CHAPTER VI
Final Provisions
Article 22
The Powers not represented at the Conference shall be permitted to sign the present Convention.
To this end, the Netherlands Government shall invite, immediately after the Convention shall have been signed by the Plenipotentiaries of the Powers who have taken part in the Conference, all the Powers of Europe and of America not represented at the Conference, to wit, the Argentine Republic; Austria Hun-gary; Belgium; Bolivia; Brazil; Bulgaria; Chile; Colombia; Costa Rica; Re-public of Cuba; Denmark; Dominican Republic; Republic of Ecuador; Spain; Greece; Guatemala; Republic of Haiti; Honduras; Luxemburg; Mexico; Monte-negro; Nicaragua; Nonvay; Panama; Paraguay; Peru; Roumania; Salvador; Servia; Sweden; Switzerland; Turkey; Uruguay; United States of Venezuela, to designate a Delegate armed with the full powers necessary for the signing of the Convention at The Hague.
936    THE OPIUM PROBLEM
The Convention shall be furnished with these signatures by means of a "Protocol of signature of Powers not represented at the Conference," to be added after the signatures of the Powers represented and indicating the date of each signature.
Article 23
After all the Powers, as much for themselves as for their possessions, colonies, protectorates and leased territories, shall have signed the Convention, or the supplementary Protocol hereinbefore indicated, the Netherlands Government shall invite the Powers to mtify the Convention together with this Protocol.
In case the signature of all the Powers invited shall not have been secured by December 31, 1912, the Netherlands Government shall immediately invite all the powers who have signed by that date, to designate Delegates to proceed to The Hague to examine into the possibility of nevertheless depositing their ratifications.
Ratification shall be executed within as short a time as possible and shall be deposited at once at The Hague in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
The Netherlands Government shall give notice every month to the Signa-tory Powers of the ratifications which it shall have received in the interval.
As soon as the ratifications of all the signatory Powers, as much for them-selves as for their colonies, possessions, protectomtes and leased territories, shall have been received by the Netherlands Government, this government shall give notice to all the Powers who shall have ratified the Convention, of the date on which the last of such acts of ratification shall have been received.
Article 24
The present Convention shall go into effect three months after the date men-tioned in the Netherlands Government's notification, as indicated in the last paragraph of the preceding article.
With regard to the laws, regulations and other measures provided for by the present Convention, it is agreed that the drafts necessary to this end shall be drawn up not later than six months after the going into effect of the Convention. With regard to the laws, these shall also be proposed by the Governments to their parliaments or legislative bodies within this same period of six months, and in any case at the first session which shall follow the expiration of this period.
The date from which these laws, regulations, or measures shall go into effect shall be the subject of an agreement between the signatory Powers, at the instance of the Netherlands Government.
In case questions shall arise relative to the ratification of the present Con-vention, or relative to the going into effect of the Convention, or of the laws, regulations and measures which such Convention involves, the Netherlands Government, if these questions cannot be decided by other means, shall invite all the Signatory Powers to designate delegates who shall assemble at The Hague to come to an immediate agreement on these questions.
Article 25
If it should happen that one of the Contracting Powers should wish to denounce the present Convention, such denunciation shall be notified in writing to the Netherlands Government, who shall immediately communicate a cer-tified copy in conformity with such notification to all the other Powers, inform-ing them at the same time as to the date on which it received such notification.
The denunciation shall have no effect except with respect to the Power who shall have given notice thereof and one year after such notice shall have reached the Netherlands Government.
In witness whereof, the Plenipotentiaries have affixed their signatures to the present Convention.
Done at The Hague, January 23, 1912, in one single copy, which shall remain deposited in the archives of the Government of the Netherlands and copies of which, certified in conformity, shall be delivered through diplomatic channels to all the Powers represented at the Conference.
(Here follow signatures.)