ASIAN ECONOMIC HISTORY
Series One: The Opium Trade & the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs, 1945-48

(Public Record Office Class FO 371/50647-50654, 57020-57024, 67641-67644, 72907-72915)

The Opium Trade has played a major part in the economic history of Asia. For a long time such trade was encouraged and became an integral part of Anglo-Indian Chinese trade. However, after the Second World War it was decided that a much improved international system of controls was needed to clamp down on trade of all narcotic drugs.

A Commission was appointed to investigate the issue under the auspices of the United Nations. In the period 1945-1948 this Commission investigated the social, economic and political ramifications of new proposals and legislation.

This project makes available the British Foreign Office files concerning this investigation. In addition to providing details of the activities and findings of the Commission, these files contain a mass of background reports and correspondence. This source makes clear the complexity and problematic nature of drug control.