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Period: to
History of Drug Use and Drug Legislation
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Drug Policies Racial and ethnic groups
Chinese immigrants were brought to the United States to work in gold mines. The Chinese immigrants were not allowed to enter the rural counties and were forced to establish their own communties called "Chinatowns" where they frequently smoked opium. Anti-Chinese legistation was established because the Chinese who smoked opium were accused of out working the white men. Opium "dens' were raided and the Chinese were thrown in prison. -
Coca Plant
The coca shrub is indigenous to certain sections of South America. It's use began by being chewed by local farmers and miners. Around the time of the Civil War, German scientists began to isolate alkaloidal cocaine from the coca leaf. It was at first used to treat morphine addiction. It eventually became a cure-all in the United States, treating everything from headaches to hysteria. -
Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle"
In, 1906 Upton Sinclair published a piece called "The Jungle," shedding light on the filthy conditions of the meat industry in Chicago. Sinclair's piece made meat sales fall by almost 50 percent and forced President Roosevelt to send investigators to Chicago to investigate. What they found was actually worse than Sinclair had documented and forced the adoption of the Pure Food and Drug Act, which also required medicines to list drug information. -
Harrison Act
The Harrison Narcotics Tax Act of 1914 was approved on December 17, 1914. The act stated that a special tax be placed on anyone who produces, imports, manufactures, compounds, dispenses, sell, distributes, or gives away opium or coca leaves or any derivatives. The price of cocaine increased as a result and users again turned towards cheaper, legal stimulants. -
Patent Medicines
Narcotics clinics began to open in almost every major city. Patients began to overwhelm the medical staffs. In 1922, federal narcotics agents began to shut down these clinics and arrest the physicians and pharmacists. Addicts were forced to look to the illegal drug trade to support their addictions. Opium eventually became hard to come by, so addicts turned to heroin. In 1923, legislation was passed to ban heroin from the United States. The use of opiates was now criminalized. -
Prohibition
Congress passed the National Prohibiton Act (also known as the Volstead Act). The Prohibition Bureau, which was an arm of the Treasury Department, was also established. Agents were practically above the law and could do anything they wanted, from illegally stopping vehicles with roadblocks to killing innocent people. The murder rate increased from 6.8 per 100,000 people in 1920 to 9.7 per 100,000 people in 1933. The Prohibiton Act was repealed in 1933. -
Drug Rehabilitation Programs
During the 60s the medical profession began to focus of drug treatment and research. Researchers began to look at drug use as a social problem and not just a law- enforcement issue. In 1961, California established a civil commitment program in which drug addicts were taken into custody and committed to a nonpunitive period of confinement and treatment. -
Marijuana
In the early 1900s legislation was passed against marijuana and strides were made to prevent the general public from getting involved with it, The tax of 100 dollars per ounce of cannabis was established rather than completely prohibiting it. By 1960, public attitude towards marijuana changed considerably. Marijuana soon became widely acceptable across the middle and upper classes, regardless of ethnicity, By the end of the 1960s, the penalties for marijuana had been significantly reduced. -
Crack cocaine
During the 1980s, a new form of cocaine called "crack" became popular. This form is typically smoked instead of snorted. It was cheaper or more available for younger drug users. This new form of cocaine became very popular to the media. By 1989, the popularity of crack begain to diminish. -
Ronald Reagan
During Ronald Reagan's presidency, drugs became a major political issue.The "Just Say No!" campaign was used to target the youth at that time. The Anti-Drug Use Act of 1988 was passed within the final days of the 100th Congress. The goal of this act was for the government to create a "drug free" America by 1995. The act created fines and ineligibility for federal benefits such as student loans and mortgages.The war on drugs is widely viewed as a failure. -
1990a
The 1990s began a decade of lack of political interest in drug use. Prisons began to be overcrowded due to state and federal policies. Laws penalizing crack sellers are significantly greater than those used to penalize cocaine sellers and many believe that is because of the popularity of crack among minorities. Use of meth increased. Crack also gained popularity in rural areas.
