How long have substances that today would be considered illicit been used in the United States? For what purposes? List and describe some of the most important pieces of federal drug-control legislation

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

An examination of the history of drug abuse in America reveals that many substances considered illegal today have been used for a variety of purposes.
For example:
• Opium was widely available in medicines of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
• Morphine was widely prescribed and used by physicians.
• Marijuana was imported by Mexican immigrants into this country but was quickly criminalized.
• LSD has been used for the treatment of psychiatric disorders.
• Cocaine was used for the treatment of psychiatric disorders. Cocaine was also put in medicine and beverages.
The following are some of the important federal drug-control legislation:
Harrison Narcotics Act (1914). This was the first major piece of federal antidrug legislation, requiring that persons dealing in opium, morphine, heroin, and cocaine had to register with the federal government and pay a $1.00 tax every year.
Marijuana Tax Act (1937). This act placed a tax of $100 per ounce on cannabis.
Boggs Act (1951). This act made marijuana and several other drugs federally prohibited controlled substances.
Narcotic Control Act (1956). This act increased penalties for drug trafficking and possession and made the sale of heroin to anyone under age 18 a capital offense.
Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970. This act established schedules classifying psychoactive drugs according to their degree of psychoactivity.
Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. This act created a cabinet-level post (a drug czar to be in charge of federal initiatives), increased penalties for recreational drug users, denied federal benefits to convicted drug offenders, and included the possibility of capital punishment for drug-related murders.
Crime Control Act of 1990. This act doubled the appropriations for drug-law enforcement grants, enhanced drug-control and drug education programs, assisted rural states in drug-enforcement efforts, sanctioned steroids under the Controlled Substances Act, and created “drug-free school zones.”
Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. This act accomplished many objectives, including providing funding to rural areas for anticrime and drug efforts, providing money for treatment and education programs, requiring post-conviction drug testing of all federal prisoners, and tripling penalties for using children to deal drugs in drug-free zones.
Drug-Free Communities Act of 1997. This act provided support to local communities to reduce substance abuse among youth.
Twenty-first Century Cures Act of 2016. This act provided $1 billion in state grants to assist in drug treatment, prevention, and prescription drug monitoring.