When did it start?
Drugs, a substance that America has been fighting throughout history, but when did this war on drugs really start? Well people started to use opium around the civil war period, and cocaine was later used around the 1880's. Later Morphine was discovered around 1906 and prescribed to patients as pain relievers. After this time there was an epidemic of drug abuse so the federal government decided to pass the Harrison Narcotics Act of 1914. It restricted the manufacture and the sales of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and morphine. This act was strictly enforced and the drug epidemic died down. By world war 2 the first drug epidemic in American history was forgotten. By the 1960's however, a new drug epidemic occurred, and to this day there is still a war on drugs. The 1960's started a huge wave of drug epidemics that still go on to this day.
In the 1960's drug use was seen as a social rebellion by the young folks. As drug use became more rampant in the 1960's, “The Federal Bureau of Narcotics also used propaganda as a preventative measure. They created myths and horror stories about drugs.”[1] these myths still haunt children today, but since the 1960's was the time of youth rebellion, what better way to rebel then to break some laws?
An act that was passed in response to all the drug abuse was the Narcotics Rehabilitation act of 1966. The act saw narcotic addiction as a type of mental illness, but it was never properly funded because the treatment could not keep up with the increases in drug demands.[2] What the act did do was pave the road for federal expenditures on drug abuse treatment to this day. “The 1960's gave birth to a rebellious movement that popularized drug use.”[3] The birth of this drug crazed society also gave birth to a chain of policies and reforms that still are in act today, and yet more are being made now.
Drugs, a substance that America has been fighting throughout history, but when did this war on drugs really start? Well people started to use opium around the civil war period, and cocaine was later used around the 1880's. Later Morphine was discovered around 1906 and prescribed to patients as pain relievers. After this time there was an epidemic of drug abuse so the federal government decided to pass the Harrison Narcotics Act of 1914. It restricted the manufacture and the sales of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and morphine. This act was strictly enforced and the drug epidemic died down. By world war 2 the first drug epidemic in American history was forgotten. By the 1960's however, a new drug epidemic occurred, and to this day there is still a war on drugs. The 1960's started a huge wave of drug epidemics that still go on to this day.
In the 1960's drug use was seen as a social rebellion by the young folks. As drug use became more rampant in the 1960's, “The Federal Bureau of Narcotics also used propaganda as a preventative measure. They created myths and horror stories about drugs.”[1] these myths still haunt children today, but since the 1960's was the time of youth rebellion, what better way to rebel then to break some laws?
An act that was passed in response to all the drug abuse was the Narcotics Rehabilitation act of 1966. The act saw narcotic addiction as a type of mental illness, but it was never properly funded because the treatment could not keep up with the increases in drug demands.[2] What the act did do was pave the road for federal expenditures on drug abuse treatment to this day. “The 1960's gave birth to a rebellious movement that popularized drug use.”[3] The birth of this drug crazed society also gave birth to a chain of policies and reforms that still are in act today, and yet more are being made now.
The 1960's was also a time where a lot of drug research came into play. As drugs became more of a problem, scientists were finally able to prove that smoking tobacco was a hazard that caused lung cancer and other health problems. Tobacco companies were required to put the label of the surgeon general, which warned the public of the hazards of smoking, on their cigarette boxes.[4] “A plethora of new drugs was suddenly available: the Pill was first marketed; Valium and Librium debuted to soothe ...The social expansion of drugs for use and abuse in the 1960s forever changed not only the nature of medicine but also the politics of nations.”[5] With all these new drugs coming out the government needed to put regulations on it all. A lot of today's political battles are mainly about drugs now. The government decided that drug abuse was so dangerous in the nation, that some said it was more dangerous than the Vietnam war. Ironically all the publicity that drugs were getting actually helped it spread more.
Drugs are a terrifying force, but it is our fear of it that makes it so powerful. People let that fear consume them and the government has just made it worse by publicizing it so much that everyone in the nation knows about them. Drugs were never really a problem in the past because not many people knew about them, but with technology and media coverage, many people started to find out more about them. Since the 1960's America's drug problems have been phenomenal.
Drugs are a terrifying force, but it is our fear of it that makes it so powerful. People let that fear consume them and the government has just made it worse by publicizing it so much that everyone in the nation knows about them. Drugs were never really a problem in the past because not many people knew about them, but with technology and media coverage, many people started to find out more about them. Since the 1960's America's drug problems have been phenomenal.
Footnotes
1. "The United States War on Drugs," Stanford, Accessed April 9, 2014, http://www.stanford.edu/class/e297c/poverty_prejudice/paradox/htele.html, paragraph 7.
2. Ibid., paragraph 9.
3. "Thirty Years of America's Drug War," PBS, Accessed April 8, 2014, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/cron/, paragraph 2.
4. "Law in History of Drugs in America," Shmoop University, Accessed April 9, 2014, http://www.shmoop.com/drugs-america/law.html, paragraph 17.
5. "Anodynes & Estrogen," American Chemical Society, Accessed April 9, 2014, http://www2.uah.es/farmamol/The%20Pharmaceutical%20Century/Ch5.html, paragraph 2.
1. "The United States War on Drugs," Stanford, Accessed April 9, 2014, http://www.stanford.edu/class/e297c/poverty_prejudice/paradox/htele.html, paragraph 7.
2. Ibid., paragraph 9.
3. "Thirty Years of America's Drug War," PBS, Accessed April 8, 2014, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/cron/, paragraph 2.
4. "Law in History of Drugs in America," Shmoop University, Accessed April 9, 2014, http://www.shmoop.com/drugs-america/law.html, paragraph 17.
5. "Anodynes & Estrogen," American Chemical Society, Accessed April 9, 2014, http://www2.uah.es/farmamol/The%20Pharmaceutical%20Century/Ch5.html, paragraph 2.
Citations
"Anodynes & Estrogen." American Chemical Society. Accessed April 9, 2014, http://www2.uah.es/farmamol/The%20Pharmaceutical%20Century/Ch5.html.
"Illegal Drugs in America: A Modern History." Drug Enforcement Administration Museum & Visitors Center. Accessed April 8, 2014, http://www.deamuseum.org/museum_ida.html.
"Law in History of Drugs in America." Shmoop University. Accessed April 9, 2014, http://www.shmoop.com/drugs-america/law.html.
"Redirect Notice." Redirect Notice. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.
"Thirty Years of America's Drug War." PBS. Accessed April 8, 2014, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/cron/.
"The United States War on Drugs." Stanford. Accessed April 9, 2014, http://www.stanford.edu/class/e297c/poverty_prejudice/paradox/htele.html.
"Anodynes & Estrogen." American Chemical Society. Accessed April 9, 2014, http://www2.uah.es/farmamol/The%20Pharmaceutical%20Century/Ch5.html.
"Illegal Drugs in America: A Modern History." Drug Enforcement Administration Museum & Visitors Center. Accessed April 8, 2014, http://www.deamuseum.org/museum_ida.html.
"Law in History of Drugs in America." Shmoop University. Accessed April 9, 2014, http://www.shmoop.com/drugs-america/law.html.
"Redirect Notice." Redirect Notice. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.
"Thirty Years of America's Drug War." PBS. Accessed April 8, 2014, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/cron/.
"The United States War on Drugs." Stanford. Accessed April 9, 2014, http://www.stanford.edu/class/e297c/poverty_prejudice/paradox/htele.html.