The Convention on Psychotropic Substances is a United Nations treaty
designed to control psychoactive drugs such as amphetamines,
barbiturates and LSD. During the 1960s, drug use and abuse exploded
worldwide, especially in the Western developed nations. Availability
of stimulants soared as manufacturers and traffickers took advantage
of the inconsistent patchwork of national laws to circumvent
restrictions on production and trade. The Single Convention on
Narcotic Drugs of 1961 could not regulate the plethora of
newly-discovered psychotropics, due to its limited scope. On February
21, 1971, plenipotentiaries signed the Convention, which was worded
broadly enough to be capable of encompassing almost any mind-altering
substance. Today, 175 nations are Parties to the treaty, which
contains import and export restrictions and other rules aimed at
limiting drug use to scientific and medical purposes. Many laws have
been passed to implement the Convention, including the U.S. Controlled
Substances Act, the U.K. Misuse of Drugs Act, and the Canadian
Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_on_Psychotropic_Substances
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1644:
The Battle of Marston Moor, one of the decisive encounters of the
English Civil War, was fought near York.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Marston_Moor)
1839:
A cargo of 53 African slaves mutinied on the slave ship Amistad off
the coast of Cuba.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amistad)
1900:
First Zeppelin flight on Lake Constance near Friedrichshafen, Germany.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeppelin)
1937:
Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the Pacific
Ocean.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amelia_Earhart)
1976:
North and South Vietnam united to form the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_Republic_of_Vietnam)
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Wikiquote of the day:
"Wisdom is not communicable. The wisdom which a wise man tries to
communicate always sounds foolish... Knowledge can be communicated,
but not wisdom." -- Hermann Hesse
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hermann_Hesse)