Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1936, The Far East, Volume IV

893.114 Narcotics/1537: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in China (Johnson)

Washington, April 10, 1936—7 p.m.

89. Your despatch No. 172, January 14. Your despatch No. 272, February 28. Your despatch No. 299, March 11. In view of the provisions of Articles 5 and 6 of the Narcotics Limitation Convention of 1931,⁶⁰ the Chinese Government is considered to be within its rights in limiting to a single organ of the national government the importation and distribution of the drugs to which that Convention applies and to be entitled to take adequate steps under that Convention, which applies Article 7 of the Geneva Drug Convention of 1925,⁶¹ to limit delivery to or possession by authorized persons of such drugs in order to limit the use of such drugs exclusively to medical and scientific purposes. The Department, therefore, is not disposed to object to the requirements of Customs Notification No. 1480 or of the regulations, translations of which accompanied your despatch No. 172 of January 14, 1936, insofar as they relate to the drugs to which the Narcotics Limitation Convention of 1931 applies.

The Department accordingly approves the recommendation contained in your despatch No. 299 of March 11 and requests that American citizens in China to whom the Customs Notification and regulations are intended to apply be informed of this Government’s desire to cooperate with the Government of China for the more effective accomplishment of the purpose of the Narcotics Limitation Convention, namely, to prevent the use, for other than medical or scientific purposes, of the drugs to which the Convention has application; that in order to make this cooperation effective the American citizens concerned should be advised to conform to Customs Notification No. 1480 and the provisional regulations, translations of which accompanied your despatch of January 14, subject to the understanding that exclusive jurisdiction over American citizens in China must be retained by the appropriate American authorities and that necessary supplies of narcotic drugs shall not be withheld from any American national in China who is recognized by the Government of the United States as lawfully entitled and qualified to dispense, prescribe or use the drugs solely for medical and scientific purposes.

The substance of this telegram may be communicated to the Foreign Office if occasion should arise for replying to the Foreign Office note of December 30, 1935.⁶²

Hull

60. Foreign Relations, 1931, vol. i, p. 675.
61. League of Nations Treaty Series, vol. ii, p. 337.
62. Not printed.