Under the security cooperation agreement called the Merida Initiative, the United States provides military and law enforcement assistance to the Mexican government in support of efforts to combat drug cartels and organized crime. The United States and Mexico jointly developed this agreement in response to a substantial increase in drug-related criminal activity and violence on both sides of the border.

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By refocusing from more militarized bilateral security assistance to institution building, Mexico and the United States can work together to strengthen the rule of law, to the benefit of both countries.

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A new multimedia resource from CFR's International Institutions and Global Governance program reveals gaps in multilateral efforts to combat transnational organized crime.

The U.S. Psychotropic Substances Act of 1978 was signed into law on November 10, 1978 as Public Law 95-633.

The African Union Plan of Action on Drug Control and Crime Prevention Enforcement Mechanism was adopted on December 7, 2007 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The African Union Revised Plan of Action on Drug Control and Crime Prevention was adopted on December 7, 2007 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Transforming Afghanistan's opium farming from heroin to morphine production would thwart the Taliban and stabilize the economy, writes Vartan Gregorian, president of Carnegie Corporation of New York.

The Agreement Concerning the Suppression of the Manufacture of, Internal Trade in, and Use of, Prepared Opium was adopted on February 11, 1925 in Geneva, and entered into force on July 28, 1926.

Senator John Kerry chaired this Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics, and International Operations that produced this December 1988 report.

The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 was signed into law on November 18, 1988. Among its provisions, it established the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

The UN Global Commission on Drug Policy released its "War on Drugs" report in June 2011.

The Southasian Regional Convention (SAARC) Convention on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances was signed on November 23, 1990 and entered into force on November 15, 1993.

The U.S. State Department released this fact sheet on the Plan Colombia on March 28, 2000.

The U.S. Office of Drug Control Strategy released the U.S. Drug Control Strategy 2012 report on April 17, 2012.

The 24^th Outcome Document of the 1998 G8 Summit, regarding drugs and international crime, was released at the Birmingham G8 Summit on May 16, 1998.

The United Nations International Drug Control Programme published this report, UNIDC: Facing the Challenge in December 1997. It discusses drug threats, traficcking, reducing demand and production, and includes UN narcotics conventions.

The Narcotics Convention of 1931 (full name Convention for Limiting the Manufacture and Regulating the Distribution of Narcotic Drugs, and Protocol of Signature) was signed on July 13, 1931 and entered into force on July 9, 1933.

The International Opium Convention of 1925 was signed at the first International Opium Conference on February 19, 1925, in Geneva, Switzerland. It entered into force in 1919.

The Harrison Narcotics Tax Act of 1914 was approved on December 17, 1914. It involved "a special tax on all persons who produce, import, manufacture, compound, deal in, dispense, sell, distribute, or give away opium or coca leaves, their salts, derivatives, or preparations, and for other purposes."

The UN General Assembly, at its Twentieth Special Session on September 8, 1998, agreed to the Action Plan on International Cooperation on the Eradication of Illicit Drug Crops and on Alternative Development.