Keith Mack
The history of drug laws in the United States is a long and complex one, with the very first federal biologics law being passed in 1813, addressing the provision of reliable smallpox vaccines to citizens. However, the first federal law impacting drugs was the Food and Drug Act of 1906, which required the labelling of all ingredients in patent medicines and cure-alls, leading to a significant decrease in their use. Over the years, various laws have been enacted, amended, and repealed, with the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 being a pivotal piece of legislation that formed the foundation of modern drug policy in the US. The narrative of America's drug war is deeply intertwined with issues of race and power, with early anti-drug laws often targeting specific racial groups associated with particular drugs.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year | 1906 |
| Name of the law | Food and Drug Act |
| Reason for the law | To address the sale of "snake oil" sales of cure-alls which promised to cure most everything but did not provide a list of ingredients. |
| Impact | Required the labeling of all ingredients in these patent medicines and cure-alls. |
| Other laws in the same year | The Harrison Act |
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What You'll Learn
San Francisco's 1875 ordinance against opium dens
The ordinance was motivated by a combination of factors, including concerns about public health, morality, and racial mixing. San Francisco politicians and media outlets stoked fears of racial mixing between white women and Chinese men, with the San Francisco Chronicle reporting that the Board of Supervisors had acted after learning of "opium-smoking establishments kept by Chinese, for the exclusive use of white men and women". The newspaper also warned of “young men and women of respectable parentage" frequenting these establishments.
While the law was race-neutral on its face, it was enforced unevenly, primarily targeting white smokers and those who sold opium to them, whether Chinese or white. This dynamic was evident in San Francisco and other Western towns, where police often overlooked Chinese opium dens that catered exclusively to Chinese patrons. The ordinance against opium dens was part of a broader legal campaign aimed at subjugating or driving away Chinese immigrants, who were portrayed as "filthy" and responsible for introducing the "deadly drug" to white residents.
Despite the 1875 ordinance, opium dens remained prevalent in San Francisco, and the city continued to be a hub for opium smoking until around World War II. The ordinance set a precedent for drug prohibition in the United States, with other states following suit and enacting similar laws. By 1896, twenty-two states had prohibited opium dens.
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The Harrison Act
The Harrison Narcotics Tax Act, commonly known as the Harrison Act, was the first federal drug law in the United States. It was introduced by Representative Francis Burton Harrison of New York and debated before the full House of Representatives on June 26, 1913. The act was passed in 1914 and its enforcement began in 1915.
The act was intended to address the failure of the Smoking Opium Exclusion Act of 1909, which did not effectively limit the importation of opium. The Harrison Act targeted individual drug users instead of the maritime shipping industry, making it harder for smugglers to evade regulation.
The "professional practice" clause of the act allowed physicians to distribute narcotics "in the course of his professional practice only". However, this clause was interpreted after 1917 to mean that doctors could not prescribe opiates to addicts. This interpretation led to the jailing of both addicts and doctors for decades.
In 1919, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Harrison Act in two cases, United States v. Doremus and Webb v. United States. The Court ruled that physicians could not prescribe narcotics solely to maintain an addict's customary use.
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The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937
The act was influenced by the International Opium Convention of 1928, which included cannabis as a drug and not a medicine. By the 1930s, several state governments and other countries had already banned marijuana. However, the U.S. government hesitated to take action, partly because therapeutic uses of cannabis were still being explored, and American industries profited from commercial applications of hemp fiber, seeds, and oil.
Federal Bureau of Narcotics Commissioner Harry Anslinger became a powerful anti-marijuana advocate, and his campaign against cannabis led to the passage of the Marihuana Tax Act. The act regulated the importation, cultivation, possession, and distribution of marijuana. Importers were required to register and pay an annual tax of $24. While the act primarily targeted the recreational use of marijuana, it also impacted industrial hemp, making hemp importation and commercial production less economical.
The American Medical Association (AMA) opposed the taxation because it imposed a burden on physicians prescribing cannabis, retail pharmacists selling cannabis, and medical cannabis cultivation/manufacturing. Dr. William Creighton Woodward, legislative counsel for the AMA, testified that the claims about marijuana addiction, violence, and overdose were not supported by evidence. He argued that the law should not hinder further investigation into the medical use of cannabis. However, despite the AMA's objections, the taxation was passed based on "differing" reports and hearings.
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The Food and Drug Act of 1906
The Act's main purpose was to ban foreign and interstate traffic in adulterated or mislabelled food and drug products. It directed the US Bureau of Chemistry to inspect products and refer offenders to prosecutors. It required that active ingredients be listed on the label of a drug's packaging and that drugs could not fall below purity levels established by the United States Pharmacopeia or the National Formulary. The law also established a federal cadre of food and drug inspectors.
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The Controlled Substances Act of 1970
The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) of 1970 was enacted by the 91st United States Congress and signed into law by President Richard Nixon. The CSA is the federal US drug policy that regulates the manufacture, importation, possession, use, and distribution of certain substances. It establishes a federal policy to regulate the manufacturing, distributing, importing/exporting, and use of regulated substances.
The CSA combined all previous federal drug laws and allowed for federal law enforcement of controlled substances, serving as the legal foundation in the federal fight against drug abuse. It also changed the nature of federal drug law policies and expanded federal law enforcement pertaining to controlled substances.
The CSA places all substances that were previously regulated under existing federal law into one of five schedules. This placement is based on the substance's medical use, potential for abuse, and safety or dependence liability. The CSA provides a mechanism for substances to be controlled (added to or transferred between schedules) or decontrolled (removed from control). The procedure for these actions is outlined in Section 201 of the Act.
Since its enactment in 1970, the CSA has been amended numerous times. Some notable amendments include the 1976 Medical Device Regulation Act, the Psychotropic Substances Act of 1978, the Controlled Substances Penalties Amendments Act of 1984, and the 1986 Federal Analog Act.
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Frequently asked questions
The Food and Drug Act of 1906 was the first federal law in the US that impacted drugs.
The Food and Drug Act of 1906 was passed by Congress in response to the sale of "cure-alls" that promised to cure everything but did not list their ingredients. These "cure-alls" often consisted of large amounts of morphine or alcohol. The law required the labelling of all ingredients in these medicines.
The first federal biologics law was passed in 1813 and addressed the provision of reliable smallpox vaccines to citizens.
The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 was the first federal law that regulated recreational drugs.
San Francisco's 1875 ordinance against opium dens was the first US law banning any non-alcoholic drug.
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