The beginning of modern history led to certain substances moving out of traditional contexts to new environments where they were a novelty. For example, the appearance of coffee and tobacco were met very ambiguously in a number of European countries – in some places with great enthusiasm, in others with suspicion and attempts to ban them. In Sweden coffee triggered attempts to combat the increasingly popular drink, as well as new forms of social activity associated with it. So, the King banned both the drink and “coffee paraphernalia” in 1746, with the police seizing cups and other utensils.

Tobacco, introduced by Columbus from America in 1493, soon began to spread throughout Europe, but several countries made brutal attempts to combat it. When tobacco became very popular in Russia in the 17th century, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich banned its use under the threat of death. But despite strict prohibition, the Russians continued to buy tobacco from foreign merchants. At the same time, the use of tobacco was also banned in Bavaria, Saxony, and Zurich, but the ban failed to achieve the desired result there. In the Ottoman Empire, tobacco began to spread in the 16th century and was used as a medicine, but in 1633 the attitude towards it changed, and Sultan Murad IV imposed the death penalty for smoking. The ban proved ineffective in that instance as well and was lifted by his successor, who introduced a tax on tobacco.

A similar story occurred with alcohol, the use of which has been and remains under a strict ban in a number of countries in the Muslim world. Many people are aware of the example of the failure of prohibition – the complete ban on alcohol in the USA in the early 20th century, which not only failed to achieve its goal, but also led to a number of health problems related to the under-the-table production. It has also led to the formation and strengthening of mafia groups, even at the international level. In the early 20th century, the USA also adopted the first laws banning a number of other substances. For example, in 1914 it adopted the Harrison Act, prohibiting opiates and cocaine, the use of which was widespread at the time.

Different rulers at different times took different approaches to the regulation of substances, and optimizing regulation models remains an urgent task to this day. As in the example of tobacco: several centuries have passed, but the international community and individual countries continue to experiment with its regulation, but, at least to date, it has become obvious that all historical attempts to ban it completely have failed to lead to a cessation of use.

Until the beginning of the 20th century attempts to ban or regulate substances were more local in nature. In 1912, at the first international opium conference in The Hague, the first international convention was signed to establish control over the production and trade of morphine, cocaine, and their derivatives. In 1928, a ban on the trade of hashish was added, and a statistical accounting system was introduced, controlled by the Permanent Central Opium Board, part of the League of Nations.