Drugs In The 1800's

743 Words3 Pages
In the 1800’s, The United States started to experience drugs. First starting with Opium, which became popular after the American Civil War, followed by Cocaine. Drugs were initially used in drinks and for medical purposes. Cocaine was used in Coca-Cola drinks, Morphine was used as a pain reliever, and heroin was used to treat respiratory illness. During the turn of the century, United States started to become aware of some of the side effects from these drugs, such as addiction and abuse. The abuse of cocaine and opium became a huge epidemic in the 19th century. Many local governments started to ban opium importations and regulate the labels of medicine. In 1906, the Pure Food and Drug Act required all physicians to label their medicine…show more content…
Anslinger until 1962 (Standford University, 2015). Anslinger molded America’s drug policy and throughout his time working, drugs were progressively criminalized. Under his tenure he created The Boggs Act of 1951 and The Narcotics Control Act of 1956. These two acts increased the penalties for marijuana use and created harsh and oppressive anti-narcotics legislations. Some of the legislation included regulations such as: eliminating discretions to suspend sentences or permit probation, exclude parole to only first time offenders convicted of possession, and even invoked the death penalty for anyone who sold heroin to a minor (site). Anslinger established a penal drug policy to focus on eliminating drugs and punishing sellers, as well as…show more content…
Despite the recognition, drug use was still considered a crime. Although the act allowed the federal government to provide the need for drug abuse treatment, this act did not have a strong impact because of the small amount of funding. The need for drug facility treatment programs could not meet the demand for drug users in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Due to all the complications, In 1971 President Richard Nixon declared a war on
Open Document