Cooperation on combating illicit drugs can be traced back to the Declaration of ASEAN Concord issued by the Heads of Government in 1976 which called for “the intensification of cooperation among member states as well as with the relevant international bodies in the prevention and eradication of the abuse of narcotics and the illegal trafficking of drugs.” This then led to the signing of the ASEAN Declaration of Principles to Combat the Abuse of Narcotics Drugs by the Foreign Ministers of the five ASEAN founding members later in the same year. Among others, the Declaration calls for AMS to strengthen cooperation on vigilance and preventive and penal measures, drug research and education and improvements in national legislation in the fight against drug abuse.

In 1997, the coordinated efforts against illicit drugs gained momentum with the reaffirmation of a mutual political resolve among the ASEAN Member States at the 2^nd Informal Summit. For the first time, ASEAN leaders embraced the idea of “a Southeast Asia free of illicit drugs, free of their production, processing, trafficking and use.”

In July 1998, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers signed the Joint Declaration for a Drug-Free ASEAN by 2020 to eradicate the production, processing, trafficking and use of illicit drugs in Southeast Asia by the year 2020. Two years later, in July 2000, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers agreed to expedite the target year for realising a drug-free ASEAN to 2015 and adopted the “Bangkok Political Declaration in Pursuit of a Drug-Free ASEAN 2015” in Bangkok. The commitment for ASEAN’s cooperation to fight against illicit drugs was further strengthened in 2012 with the ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on Drug-Free ASEAN 2015.