Although there is presently a growing concern over drug sales and use in the United States, it follows a long period of relative non-intervention by government. Most such restrictions were at the state or local level, mainly aimed at certain groups and partially at those who were taking drugs rather than the drugs themselves. Federal targeting concerning use and distribution of drugs is less than a century old.
Drug Laws in the 1800s
Massachusetts passed one of the earliest U.S. drug laws in the 1830s. It prevented native Americans from buying alcohol. In the 1850s, 13 states had laws against alcohol, but most were repealed in the 1860s. President Lincoln appointed a chemist in 1862 for the new Department of Agriculture. That led to the Bureau of Chemistry, which led eventually to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Restrictions in the 1900s
Congress passed the Food and Drug Act in 1906, but it was strictly a law on labels. The act did not argue against the use of such drugs; they just had to be labeled properly. Beginning in 1907 and continuing until 1919 came the Prohibitionist movement with Protestants against Catholics, who were accused of decadent drunkenness.
The Harrison Tax Act was passed in 1914; it was just that, a tax on narcotics and had nothing to do with stopping their sale or use. The Volstead Act, which became effective in January 1921, produced an interesting situation. Alcohol was now illegal in the United States and marijuana, which had become quite popular in some cities in so-called drug dens, was not. That situation was changed with the 21st Amendment of 1933, which overturned prohibition.
In 1937 came a law concerning marijuana; once again it was just a tax and not illegal, even if hard to get. In 1968, the federal government for the first time directly prohibited a drug in the Drug Abuse Control Amendment, referring to amphetamines, barbituates, and LSD, which was added in 1968. The Controlled Substance Act of 1970 brought addiction and drug use under government enforcement. Drug laws since that time have expanded or strengthened that enforcement.
Drug Laws in the Twenty-first Century
In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that tobacco cannot be regulated as a drug by the FDA. The safety of patented and non-patented medicines was improved by the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act in 2001. The
U.S. Drug Safety Board was formed in 2005. It will advise the FDA on drug safety issues. In 2012, the states of Colorado and Washington passed laws for legalizing the sale, possession, and consumption of marijuana.
Attorney General Eric Holder has made an announcement about drug sentences that may predict the government's future in drug enforcement. He stated that the U.S. government will no longer enforce mandatory minimum drug sentences for low-level, non-violent offenders. The reason given was simply that they were not effective in the war on drugs. The government, said Holder, needs to seek commonsense solutions in dealing effectively with drug use and drug offenders.
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