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Significant Events in the History of U.S. Drug Laws :: home

U.S. DRUG LAW TIMELINE This information provided by Robert Keel, University of Missouri at Saint Louis
Year	Event
1600s	Colonial laws required farmers to grow hemp because it was used for ropes and sails on ships. A good hemp industry was important to the shipping industry.
1700s	Hemp was the primary crop grown by George Washington at Mount Vernon, and a secondary crop grown by Thomas Jefferson at Monticello.
1844	Cocaine was synthesized.
1845	A law prohibiting the public sale of liquor is enacted in New York State. It is repealed in 1847.
1847	The American Medical Association is founded.
1860s	Opiates see widespread use as a pain killer for injured soldiers during the Civil War. Opiates were the first real miracle drugs because they allowed the patient to be anesthetized while the doctor performed surgery. Before the advent of opiates, the most common surgery was a simple amputation. That is, the doctor got several big strong people to hold the patient down and then literally sawed off an arm or a leg while the patient screamed in pain. For this reason, a good doctor was a fast doctor. Battlefield hospitals during the Civil War commonly had large piles of severed arms and legs. The use of opiates as anesthesia gave doctors time to work on the patient and actually made modern surgery possible.
1869	The Prohibition Party is formed. Gerrit Smith, twice Abolitionist candidate for President, an associate of John Brown, and a crusading prohibitionist, declares: "Our involuntary slaves are set free, but our millions of voluntary slaves still clang their chains. The lot of the literal slave, of him whom others have enslaved, is indeed a hard one; nevertheless, it is a paradise compared with the lot of him who has enslaved himself to alcohol." [Quoted in Sinclar, op. cit. pp. 83-84]
1870s	The first laws against opium smoking were passed in San Francisco and Virginia City. Opium itself was not outlawed and remained available in any number of over-the-counter products. Only the smoking of opium was outlawed, because that was a peculiarly Chinese habit and the laws were specifically directed at the Chinese. The white people in the communities feared that Chinese men were luring white women to have sex in opium dens. The patent medicine industry started its rise. Because there were no restrictions on advertising, labeling, or contents of any products the patent medicine industry made up all sorts of concoctions including the opiates, cocaine, and other drugs, and sold them with the most extravagant advertising claims. This led to a rise in addiction. Addiction was poorly understood. Morphine and heroin were recommended as remedies for alcohol addiction. French Wine of Coca: Invigorating Tonic became a popular soft drink because it contained cocaine. It went on to become Coca-Cola and, together with other similar drinks like Pepsi-Cola, made the soda fountain a common part of the neighborhood pharmacy.
1874	The Woman's Christian Temperance Union is founded in Cleveland. In 1883, Frances Willard a leader of the W.C.T.U. forms the World's Woman's Christian Temperance Union
1882	The law in the United States, and the world, making "temperance education" a part of the required course in public schools is enacted. In 1886, Congress makes such education mandatory in the District of Columbia, and in territorial, military, and naval schools. By 1900, all the states have similar laws. [Crafts et. al., op. cit. p. 72] The Personal Liberty League of the United States is founded to oppose the increasing momentum of movements for compulsory abstinence from alcohol. [Catlin, op. cit. p. 114]
1884	Sigmund Freud treats his depression with cocaine, and reports feeling "exhilaration and lasting euphoria, which is in no way differs from the normal euphoria of the healthy person. . . You perceive an increase in self-control and possess more vitality and capacity for work. . . . In other words, you are simply more normal, and it is soon hard to believe that you are under the influence of a drug." [Quoted in Ernest Jones, *The Life and Work of Sigmund Freud, Vol. 1, p. 82] Freud later died of effects of tobacco-induced cancer. He was able to break his addiction to cocaine, but could not break his addiction to cigar smoking even though most of the lower part of his face had been removed by cancer surgery. Laws are enacted to make anti-alcohol teaching compulsory in public schools in New York State. The following year similar laws are passed in Pennsylvania, with other states soon following suit.
1906	The Pure Food and Drug Act was passed, forming the Food and Drug Administration and giving it power to regulate foods and drugs, and requiring labeling of contents on foods and drugs. The most important effect on the drug problem was the demise of the patent medicine industry. Drug addiction began a dramatic drop.
1914	The Harrison Tax Act was passed, effectively outlawing the opiates and cocaine.
1915	Utah passed the first state anti-marijuana law. Mormons who had gone to Mexico in 1910 returned smoking marijuana. It was outlawed at a result of the Utah legislature enacting all Mormon religion prohibitions as criminal laws.
1922	Narcotic Drug Import and Export Act - Intended to eliminate use of narcotics except for legitimate medicinal use.
1924	Heroin Act -Makes it illegal to manufacture heroin.
1937	Marijuana Tax Act Applies controls over marijuana similar to narcotics.
1938	Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act FDA given control over drug safety, Drugs redefined: effect body even in absence of disease, Establishes class of drugs available by Prescription (Company determines status)
1942	Opium Poppy Control Act Prohibits growing poppy w/o license
1951	Durham-Humphrey Amendment Established more specific guidelines for prescription drugs: habit forming, safety, and evaluation of new drugs.
1951	Boggs Amendment to the Harrison Narcotic Act Mandatory sentences for narcotic violations.
1956	Narcotics Control Act Intends to impose even more severe penalties for narcotics violations.
1965	Drug Abuse Control Amendments (DACA) Strict controls over amphetamines, barbiturates, LSD, etc.
1966	Narcotic Addict Rehabilitation Act (NARA) Allows treatment as an alternative to jail.
1968	DACA Amendments Provides that sentence may be suspended and record expunged if no further violations within 1 year.
1970	Comprehensive Drug Abuse and Control Act Replaces and updates all previous laws concerning narcotics and other dangerous drugs. Empasis on law enforcement.
1972	Drug Abuse Office and Treatment Act Establishes federally funded programs for prevention and treatment.
1973	Methadone Control Act Regulates methadone licensing.
1973	Heroin Trafficking Act Increases penalties for distribution.
1973	Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration (ADAMHA) Consolidates NIMH, NIDA, and NIAAA under umbrella organization.
1973	Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Remodels Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs into DEA.
1974 & 1978	Drug Abuse Treatment and Control Amendments Extends 1972 act.
1978	Alcohol and Drug Abuse Education Amendments Sets up education programs within Department of Education.
1980	Drug Abuse Prevention, Treatment, and Rehabilitation Amendments Extends prevention education and treatment programs.
1984	Drug Offenders Act Sets up special programs for offenders and organizes treatment.
1986	Analogue (Designer Drug) Act Makes use of substances with similar effects and structure to existing illicit drug illegal.
1988	Anti-Drug Abuse Act Establishes oversight office: National Drug Control Policy.
1992	ADAMHA Reorganization Transfers NIDA, NIMH, and NIAAA to NIH and incorporates ADAMHA's programs into the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
1996	California Approved Proposition 215, Legalizing medical marijuana use with a prescription. The Federal authorities begin a campaign to discredit this new law, as seven other states change their laws to accept medical marijuana use.