History of Use
Narcotics have been in use by humans since 4000 B.C. Active substances from the drugs were not taken out and used until the 19th century (e.g. morphine, cocaine). This is when drug use became a huge problem because these drugs were prescribed freely by physicians and used regularly in the Civil War with about 250,000 addicts in the United States alone.
Narcotics being banned and illegalized was a gradual process, because many physicians proscribed them and/or used to them to help treat addicts. In 1875 San Francisco Outlawed opium dens, and in 1906 the nation’s Pure Food and Drug Act stated that there must be accurate labeling on certain medicines that contained opium and other drugs. Then in 1914 the Harrison Narcotic Act stated that no one but physicians could sale substantial doses of cocaine or opiates, until heroin was completely banned in the 1920s when not even doctors could prescribe opiates.
In a short amount of time Europeans managed to import opium and cocaine and turn Western Europe into a multi-drug culture. Opiates where not seen as a big problem in American until the Civil War Era. Opiates were brought over by immigrant Chinese Workers and were easy to obtain because there were no rules or regulations about them in the mid 1800s. Opiates were mainly used for medical reasons (to relieve pain, pregnant women, mixed in other medicines) people thought that they cured everything but, the problem was that opium was easily accessible and had very strong addictive side effects.
Narcotics being banned and illegalized was a gradual process, because many physicians proscribed them and/or used to them to help treat addicts. In 1875 San Francisco Outlawed opium dens, and in 1906 the nation’s Pure Food and Drug Act stated that there must be accurate labeling on certain medicines that contained opium and other drugs. Then in 1914 the Harrison Narcotic Act stated that no one but physicians could sale substantial doses of cocaine or opiates, until heroin was completely banned in the 1920s when not even doctors could prescribe opiates.
In a short amount of time Europeans managed to import opium and cocaine and turn Western Europe into a multi-drug culture. Opiates where not seen as a big problem in American until the Civil War Era. Opiates were brought over by immigrant Chinese Workers and were easy to obtain because there were no rules or regulations about them in the mid 1800s. Opiates were mainly used for medical reasons (to relieve pain, pregnant women, mixed in other medicines) people thought that they cured everything but, the problem was that opium was easily accessible and had very strong addictive side effects.
In the 1800s women made up a big portion of the population that was addicted to opiates. Opiates were prescribed to women to help then with their menstrual problems and it was a way for the women to get the effects of alcohol without having to drink because women’s drinking was drowned upon by men and husbands back then. It was also given to pregnant women when they were in labor so it could relieve their pain and in most cases make them completely forget their deliveries altogether. So mainly because of these two reasons women made a big percentage of the opium addicts.
Cocaine isolated into pure form from coca leaves was first done in 1844, but did not get much use or attention until 1883 during a war when a German doctor discovered that if the soldiers were given cocaine in its pure form then it would help then endure fatigue. But in the United States a doctor discovered that injecting pure cocaine near a nerve had greater affects.
The first anti-opium law was passed in California in 1872, stating that any administration of narcotics to a person was a felony, but this law failed to stop or control the problem in the state. In 1881, California made a law against owning or maintaining a facility where opiates were sold and it was a misdemeanor, but the law did not cover private homes, so this law did not help the problem either. So California then created a separate bureau to strictly focus on narcotics, but Connecticut was the first state to have a law stating that a narcotic addict was unable to perform their everyday tasks and had to go to a state insane asylum until they were “cured”. The first law to prohibit any opium smoking except if prescribed by a doctor wasn’t until 1877 in the state of Nevada, and other western states followed this trend.
Cocaine isolated into pure form from coca leaves was first done in 1844, but did not get much use or attention until 1883 during a war when a German doctor discovered that if the soldiers were given cocaine in its pure form then it would help then endure fatigue. But in the United States a doctor discovered that injecting pure cocaine near a nerve had greater affects.
The first anti-opium law was passed in California in 1872, stating that any administration of narcotics to a person was a felony, but this law failed to stop or control the problem in the state. In 1881, California made a law against owning or maintaining a facility where opiates were sold and it was a misdemeanor, but the law did not cover private homes, so this law did not help the problem either. So California then created a separate bureau to strictly focus on narcotics, but Connecticut was the first state to have a law stating that a narcotic addict was unable to perform their everyday tasks and had to go to a state insane asylum until they were “cured”. The first law to prohibit any opium smoking except if prescribed by a doctor wasn’t until 1877 in the state of Nevada, and other western states followed this trend.
The anti-substance law stated that only licensed physicians and pharmacist could sell or possess opiates, and it was passed in 1887 in the Territory of Oregon. Then Connecticut passed a law stating that cocaine could be sold and possessed with a doctor’s prescription, and this was in effect until 1913, but the problem was that back then the laws were only concerned about how the opiates were being sold and not about the affects the drugs had on the individuals or how the much the doctor’s were prescribing them because opiates were still available in the form of most over the counter medications. Heroine was not banned in the United States until 1925 because many people and physicians thought heroine helped cure addictions to opiates and morphine. Heroine was outlawed for any purpose including medical purposes.
In 1970 heroine was not just considered a low class non-white ghetto drug, it was now a drug used by middle class whites. After the government realized heroine use was increasing in the middle class white communities they passed the Narcotic Addiction Rehabilitation Act in 1966, which stated that treated be provided for heroin addicts for short term inpatient rehabilitation and for long term outpatient rehabilitation. This was the United States way of created facilities to treat people addicted to narcotics, but as stated in the law it was to be done in a way to isolate them from society and correct their short comings. In 1968 a special narcotic bureau was created to come down on the illegal drug trafficking in the U.S. but regardless of all of the narcotic drug control laws, heroine usage still increased especially in the younger population. Heroine was also a huge problem in the military and about 16 percent of the soldiers openly admitted to having a heroin addiction. A big reason why a lot of younger people began using heroin was because they thought the government was ignorant and wrong and just wanted to control them. By the 1970s, heroin was not longer just seen as a drug that is used by a certain class or type of people or area, heroin was used by everyone.
In 1970 heroine was not just considered a low class non-white ghetto drug, it was now a drug used by middle class whites. After the government realized heroine use was increasing in the middle class white communities they passed the Narcotic Addiction Rehabilitation Act in 1966, which stated that treated be provided for heroin addicts for short term inpatient rehabilitation and for long term outpatient rehabilitation. This was the United States way of created facilities to treat people addicted to narcotics, but as stated in the law it was to be done in a way to isolate them from society and correct their short comings. In 1968 a special narcotic bureau was created to come down on the illegal drug trafficking in the U.S. but regardless of all of the narcotic drug control laws, heroine usage still increased especially in the younger population. Heroine was also a huge problem in the military and about 16 percent of the soldiers openly admitted to having a heroin addiction. A big reason why a lot of younger people began using heroin was because they thought the government was ignorant and wrong and just wanted to control them. By the 1970s, heroin was not longer just seen as a drug that is used by a certain class or type of people or area, heroin was used by everyone.