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Traffic in Opium and Other Dangerous Drugs

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Traffic in Opium and Other Dangerous Drugs [Communicated to the Council G. 126. M. 73. 1938. XI. and the Members of the League.] [O.C./A.R.1937/4.] (Issued in English only.) Geneva, April nth, 1938. LEAGUE OF NATIONS TRAFFIC IN OPIUM AND OTHER DANGEROUS DRUGS ANNUAL REPORTS BY GOVERNMENTS FOR 1937 CANADA Note by the Secretary-General. In accordance with Article 21 of the Convention of 1931 for limiting the Manufacture and regulating the Distribution of Narcotic Drugs, the Secretary-General has the honour to com­ municate herewith to the parties to the Convention the above-mentioned report. The report is also communicated to other States and to the Advisory Committee on Traffic in Opium and other Dangerous Drugs. (For the form of annual reports, see document O.C.i65o.) A. General. I. Laws and Publications. During 1937, no new narcotic legislation was enacted in Canada. II. Administration. 1. The Narcotic Division of the Department of Pensions and National Health continues to be the special administration for the control of narcotic matters in Canada. 2. Addiction to codeine is still prevalent in Canada, but considerable progress was achieved in internal control by means of further amendments to provincial legislation, there now being four provinces in Canada which require physicians’ signed prescriptions for straight codeine, two of which also require signed prescriptions for certain preparations containing th a t drug. As reported in 1936, cases continued to be encountered in which the habit of hypoder­ mically injecting, smoking-opium was found. Prior to 1937, this practice was largely confined to British Columbia, but, during 1937, a few cases were encountered in Toronto, Ontario. Details in this regard were furnished to the League during the year. III. Control of International Trade. 1. The import and export licence system continues to function satisfactorily. The situation outlined in previous reports concerning the exportation to Canada of straight codeine tablets from Great Britain without export certificate was remedied during 1937. 2, 3. 6 . Nil. 4. Yes. 5, 8. No. 7. No such trade. IV. International Co-operation. Highly satisfactory co-operation has been maintained with other countries, notably Great Britain, the United States of America, Egypt and the Netherlands. 3550. — S. d. N. 700. 4/38. Imp. Réunies, Chambéry. V. Illicit Traffic. There was a large increase in the amount of prepared opium seized ; a decrease in crude opium. The quantities of morphine, heroin, cocaine and cannabis seized in 1937 were larger than in the preceding year. The reductions involved crude opium and opium-poppy heads. Considerable quantities of Chinese medicines and pills with morphine content were also seized, whereas in 1936 none were encountered. There were 161 convictions under the Narcotic Act as compared with 168 in the preceding year, involving the following changes in the types of cases encountered : Possession .........................................................................................10 increase Selling . ......................................................................................... 10 Importing ......................................................................................... 2 decrease Smoking opium ................................................................................ 9 „ Frequenting opium-den ............................................................... 9 Possession of opium-smoking paraphernalia ............................ 6 ~ Cases involving the p ro fe ssio n s...................................................... 1 n Fines only were imposed in n cases, involving the minor offences of frequenting opium- dens and possession of paraphernalia, while in the remaining 150 cases the sentences were as follows : Up to 1 y e a r ............................................................................................................... 91 1-2 years ..................................................................................................................25 2-3 years ............................................................................................................ 17 3-4 years ............................................................................................................ 9 4-5 years ................................................................................ 2 5-6 years ............................................................................................................ 2 6-7 years ............................................................................................................ 1 7 y e a r s ................................................................................................................... 3 In addition, the lash was imposed in 7 cases. Of the 161 convictions obtained, 65 were in British Columbia, 35 in Manitoba, 42 in Ontario, and 14 in Quebec. The biggest problem exists in British Columbia, where, during 1937, an immense amount of time was devoted to developing cases of “ conspiracy to distribute ” against a well-known trafficker named Gordon Lim and his four associates. These cases, which involved two journeys to China to secure corroborative evidence, related to a conspiracy extending over six years whereby machine-guns, pistols and cartridges were shipped from the Pacific coast to China and very large quantities of opium brought back. All five offenders received sentences of seven years' imprisonment. Their arrest in March 1937 led to a remarkable increase in the price of illicit opium in Vancouver. It will be noted from the statistics appearing later in this report that No. 1 opium was selling for $195 (Canadian dollars) per five-tael tin in January 1937 and steadily increased in price until it reached the record price of $360 per tin in August and September. The habit of hypodermically injecting smoking-opium still persisted, among Occidentals on the Pacific coast, and has also to some slight extent been encountered in Toronto, Ontario. Heavy sentences have been imposed on the traffickers involved. In January 1937, the Japanese freighter Gyokoh Maru, in process of' docking at New Westminster, B.C., picked up on its anchor 550 tins of smoking-opium, elaborately packed in eleven bundles, each attached to a central rope. It was estimated that this opium had been in the water from three to five weeks, and it had obviously been dropped overboard from some previously docked vessel. Traces of blue paint and red lead found on the ropes, possibly indicating previous storage in or near the paint locker of some vessel, were analysed and found to be precisely similar to paints used by the ships of a certain line, samples of which were also analysed. The opium involved was 225 lb. Yick Kee, green label, and 43 lb. 12 oz. Elephant Brand, red label. During the summer of 1937, heroin made its first appearance in the Vancouver underworld, and is believed to have come from Seattle. Three women were convicted of possession just after returning from that city, and correspondence seized indicated previous trips for the same purpose. A postal packet of newspapers containing one tael of opium arrived in New Westminster from China, but, as outlined in a seizure report forwarded to the League, confirming last year's experience, it was a matter of practical impossibility to effect the arrest of the intended recipient owing to conditions surrounding delivery, the use of false names, etc. Chinese medicines containing narcotics continued to arrive from the Orient, but, after analysis, were refused entry. Various quantities were also found in Chinese stores in Canada which, with one exception, had apparently entered prior to 1934, since which year analyses have been made of all incoming Chinese medicines. The one exception referred to involved a Chinese storekeeper found in possession of 102 boxes of Leong Poy Kay pills containing 0.83 gramme morphine per oz., which it was believed had been recently smuggled. A sentence of imprisonment for six months with a fine of §200 was imposed. Nine tubes of opium of a type not hitherto encountered were seized with other opium of familiar brands when an arrest was made in Victoria, B.C. The tubes were 3I- centimetres in length and contained approximately 30 grains each. Six bore the stamped inscription of Singapore and two of Hong-Kong, and presumably emanated from the Monopoly stores there. In Alberta and Saskatchewan, there was no organised narcotic traffic, and, of five cases of possession encountered, four were unimportant, the fifth involving a sleeping-car porter run­ ning from Winnipeg to Edmonton. In Manitoba, the recrudescence of heroin peddling, referred to in the 1936 report, continued to receive energetic attention, 35 convictions being obtained in 1937. The source of supply was believed to be in St. Paul, U.S.A., and this information was passed on to the United States authorities. Many arrests and heavy sentences resulted there. Immediately there­ after, Winnipeg reported : “ The effect of the arrest of this gang upon the situation in Winnipeg was really extraordinary. Immediately after the arrests were made, the local supply dried up, except to a negligible extent, within a week or ten days, indicating that this St. Paul crowd was really the source of supply and that the local people were buying from hand to mouth.’’ In Ontario, most of the 40 cases involved heroin, with some cases of opium, morphine and cannabis. Heroin trafficking in Toronto was quite well organised, and considerable time was necessary to ascertain and combat
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