The use of natural plant products to produce altered states of consciousness dates to the earliest years of human history. There has hardly been a period since then when substances such as cocaine, opiates, marijuana and other cannabis products, and a host of other natural and synthetic materials, have not been used for such effects. This chapter lists a number of important events in the history of the use of psychoactive substances in human cultures, along with a number of efforts to control the use of such products.
ca. Archaeologists discover remains of the herbal stimulant ephedra
50,000 BCE at a burial site in Iraq dated to about 50,000 years ago.
ca. Among products discovered at the earliest agricultural sites,
10,000 BCE dating to about 10,000 years ago, are cannabis, tobacco, and mandrake, which contains hallucinogenic alkaloids.
ca. 9000– Prehistoric rock art suggests the use of psychedelic mushrooms
7000 BCE by early humans.
ca. 7000 BCE Seeds of the betel nut, still chewed today for their stimulant effects in many parts of the world, are found at sites dating to 7,000 years ago.
ca. 7000 BCE Clay vessels containing remnants of wine dating to about 7000 BCE are found at the site of a Neolithic village in Iran.
ca. 6000 BCE The first cultivation of tobacco in the New World (South America) dates to about 6000 BCE.
ca. 4300 BCE The first recipes for making beer, recorded on clay tablets from Babylonia, date to about 4300 BCE.
ca. 3300 BCE The earliest written records of the use of opium date to about 3300 BCE, although evidence for its cultivation dates to about 1,000 years earlier.
ca. 3000 BCE Charred seeds of the cannabis plant found in a ritual brazier at a burial site in modern-day Romania, suggesting that they were used in a religious ceremony, date to about 3000 BCE.
2500– The earliest evidence for the cultivation of the coca plant in
1800 BCE northern Peru dates to 2500–1800 BCE.
5th century ad In his book The Persian Wars, Greek historian Herodotus records the use of cannabis as a recreational drug by the Scythians.
620 ad In one of the earliest (perhaps the earliest) attempts at regulating drinking, the prophet Muhammed prohibits the consumption of alcohol by Muslims (Qur’an 2:219 and 5:91).
1484 Pope Innocent VIII bans the use of cannabis. His action was part of the Church’s program against heretics because common belief at the time was that witches used cannabis as an “antisacrament” in place of wine at their “black masses.”
1493 Christopher Columbus and his crew, returning from America, introduce the use of tobacco products to Europe.
ca. 1525 The SwissAustrian physician and alchemist Phillip von Hohenheim (better known as Paracelsus) introduces the use of a tincture of opium called laudanum to medical practice in Europe.
1590 A Japanese law makes possession of tobacco illegal. Anyone found with the substance is subject to imprisonment and/or loss of property.
1613–1614 John Rolfe, husband of the Indian princess Pocahontas, sends the first shipment of tobacco from the New World to Europe.
1619 The Jamestown Colony adopts the first so-called “must grow” law for hemp, noting that the product has many useful applications. Other colonies soon adopt similar laws as a way of improving the supply of an essential raw material in difficult economic times.
1633 The Sultan Murad IV of Turkey declares the use of tobacco a capital offense, punished by hanging, beheading, or starvation.
1638 A Chinese law declares use of tobacco a capital offense, to be punished by beheading.
1690 The British Parliament passes an Act for the Encouraging of the Distillation of Brandy and Spirits from Corn, which results in the production of about a million gallons of alcoholic beverages, primarily gin, only four years later.
1736 Concerned about the widespread popularity of gin among all classes, the British Parliament passes the Gin Act, which raises taxes on the drink to 20 shillings per gallon, a point at which only members of the upper classes can afford the substance.
1751 The British Parliament passes a new Gin Act. After the Gin Act of 1736 resulted in riots in the streets, it was revoked for a few years, before being reimposed by this act, which imposes a tax of five shillings per gallon on gin.
1785 In his book An Inquiry into the Effects of Ardent Spirits upon the Human Body and Mind, American physician Benjamin Rush calls the intemperate use of alcohol a disease and lists a number of symptoms, such as unusual garrulity, unusual silence, profane swearing and cursing, a clipping of words, fighting, and certain extravagant acts that indicate a temporary fit of madness, such as singing, roaring, and imitating the noises of brute animals. He estimates the annual death rate from alcoholism at about 4,000 in a population of about 6 million.
1789 An estimated 200 farmers living in the vicinity of Litchfield, Connecticut, meet to form the nation’s first temperance society.
1791 The U.S. Congress enacts the nation’s first tax on whiskey, the so-called whiskey tax.
1793–1797 Opposition to the whiskey tax of 1791 leads to outbreaks of violence in various parts of Pennsylvania, all of which are eventually put down by federal forces.
ca. 1800 Members of Napoleon’s army, returning from the war in Egypt, bring with them information about the use of cannabis (in the form of hashish and marijuana) to France. Medical personnel are impressed by the painkilling properties of the drug, and some members of the general public are more interested in its use as a recreational drug.
1802 The whiskey tax of 1791 is repealed.
1805 German chemist Friedrich Sertürner extracts morphine from opium. He names the substance after Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams.
1819 German chemist Friedrich Ferdinand Runge isolates caffeine from coffee.
1848 President James Polk signs the Drug Importation Act, which establishes standards for the purity of drugs imported to the United States. The act is necessitated primarily by the fact that the United States is the last major nation in the world without legislation of this kind. The act does not, however, establish standards for drugs manufactured domestically.
1859 As a doctoral student, German chemist Albert Niemann obtains pure cocaine from coca leaves.
1868 In one of the first efforts to regulate the sale and use of drugs, the British Parliament passes the Pharmacy Act, which makes it illegal to sell opium and other drugs without a license.
1870 In New York City, a group of “scientific and medical gentlemen” found the American Association for the Cure of Inebriates, with the goals of studying the condition of “inebriety,” discussing its proper treatment, and bringing about a “co-operative public sentiment and jurisprudence.” The action was significant because it was one of the first times that the medical profession acknowledged that alcoholism might be a hereditary disease that could be treated like other medical conditions.
1875 The city of San Francisco adopts an ordinance prohibiting the smoking of opium, apparently the first law in the United States to deal with the practice.
1884 Largely through the influence of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, the New York state legislature passes a bill requiring the inclusion of an anti-alcohol curriculum in all schools in the state. Pennsylvania follows suit the next year, as do many other states in succeeding years.
1887 Romanian chemist Lazăr Edeleanu first synthesizes amphetamine in an effort to make ephedrine synthetically. With no known use, the compound is essentially forgotten for about 40 years.
1893 Japanese chemist Nagayoshi Nagai synthesizes methamphetamine.
1902 Physician C. B. Burr writes in the Journal of the American Medical Association about the problems of morphine addiction and its treatment. This article is one of the earliest commentaries on the addictive properties of morphine and heroin and their potential medical implications.
1906 The U.S. Congress passes the Pure Food and Drug Law, among whose provision is a requirement that all products containing alcohol be labeled to indicate that fact.
1909 The U.S. Congress passes the Smoking Opium Exclusion Act, the first federal regulation of the nonmedical use of a substance. The law bans the importation, possession, and smoking of opium.
1910 New York becomes the first state to adopt a drunk driving law.
1912 The International Opium Convention is signed at The Hague, the Netherlands, signed by China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Persia, Portugal, Russia, Siam, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The convention called on all signatories to make every effort to control “all persons manufacturing, importing, selling, distributing, and exporting morphine, cocaine, and their respective salts, as well as the buildings in which these persons carry such an industry or trade.” The convention is the first effort at reaching an international agreement on the control of illicit drugs.
1914 The Harrison Act requires importers, exporters, manufacturers, and distributors of all opiate products to register with the U.S. government and pay taxes on their sales. The act does not make the use of opiates illegal.
1916 In the case of United States v. Jin Fuey Moy (241 U.S. 394 [1916]), the U.S. Supreme Court severely restricts implementation of the Harrison Act, passed two years earlier.
1919 Secretary of State Francis Polk certifies the ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, placing severe restrictions on the manufacture, sale, and transportation of “intoxicating liquors” within the United States. The amendment was eventually ratified by every state in the union except for Connecticut and Rhode Island.
The International Opium Convention is incorporated into the conditions of the Versailles Peace Treaty signed at the end of World War I. This action obligated all signatories to the peace treaty to become signatories to the opium treaty also.
1922 The Narcotic Import and Export Act restricts the importation of crude opium into the United States except for medical use.
1924 The Heroin Act makes the manufacture and possession of heroin illegal.
1927 The Bureau of Prohibition in the Bureau of Internal Revenue is established as the enforcement arm of the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which had been adopted in 1919.
1928 Great Britain bans the use of cannabis for non-medical purposes.
1930 The Federal Bureau of Narcotics is established to enforce provisions of the Harrison Narcotic Act of 1914 and the Narcotic Drugs Import and Export Act of 1922.
1931 At a meeting held in Geneva, a group of nations adopt the Convention for Limiting the Manufacture and Regulating the Distribution of Narcotic Drugs in an effort to bring under control the manufacture, distribution, and use of a number of narcotic drugs. The convention enters into force in 1933.
1932 The U.S. Congress passes the Uniform State Narcotics Act, which encourages all states to adopt model legislation described in the act so that the same penalties for drug use will be applied throughout the nation. By the mid-1930s, all states have adopted the model legislation, essentially establishing a national drug policy.
The pharmaceutical firm of Smith, Kline, and French markets amphetamine as Benzedrine, an over-the-counter inhalant for respiratory congestion.
1933 Secretary of State Cordell Hull certifies the ratification of the Twenty-First Amendment to the United States, nullifying the Eighteenth Amendment and ending national laws against the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages in the United States.
1935 Two American alcoholics—William Griffith (“Bill”) Wilson and Robert Holbrook (“Bob”) Smith—found Alcoholics Anonymous.
1936 A film entitled Reefer Madness about the dangers of smoking marijuana is released to the general public. The film is reputedly produced originally by a small church group aimed at frightening their youth members about the risks of substance abuse. Although produced at little cost with a cast of essentially unknown actors, the film has come to be a cult classic and, in 2001, premiers as an off-Broadway musical show.
Representatives of a number of nations meet in Geneva to adopt the Convention for the Suppression of the Illicit Traffic in Dangerous Drugs, an effort to criminalize trafficking in illegal drugs. When the United States finds itself unable to support the final document, it loses any chance of being a strong step in preventing the worldwide distribution of illegal drugs.
1937 The American Medical Association endorses the sale of amphetamine tablets for the treatment of narcolepsy and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
The Marijuana Tax Act imposes a tax on anyone who deals in any form of cannabis, hemp, or marijuana. The act does not criminalize the use of marijuana, but it does provide for severe penalties for anyone who fails to pay the tax associated with cannabis use.
1941–1945 The U.S. government distributes both amphetamine and methamphetamine to military personnel to improve their performance in battle.
1948 The United Nations sponsors an international conference to update a treaty for the control of narcotic drugs signed in 1931. The document signed at the meeting is called the Protocol Bringing under International Control Drugs outside the Scope of the Convention of 13 July 1931 for Limiting the Manufacture and Regulating the Distribution of Narcotic Drugs. It takes an important step in recognizing that a number of substances not previously defined formally as illegal substances—including a number of synthetic products—have effects similar to those of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, morphine, and other “traditional” drugs.
1951 The Boggs Act increases federal penalties for violations of federal drug laws. The act is the first piece of legislation in which marijuana and other illegal drugs are given equal treatment.
Lois W., wife of Bill W., cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous, and Anne B. found Al-Anon, a support group for family members of alcoholics.
1956 The Narcotics Control Act further increases federal penalties for violations of federal drug laws.
1957 The teenage son of alcoholic parents and members of Alcoholics Anonymous in California form Alateen, an organization designed to provide support for the children of one or more alcoholic parents. A year later, the organization is adopted by Al-Anon as a special committee of the organization.
1961 A conference sponsored by the United Nations adopts the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, an effort to update and consolidate a number of previously adopted conventions, protocols, and agreements on the manufacture, distribution, and sale of illegal drugs, including the International Opium Convention of 1912; the Agreement Concerning the Manufacture of, Internal Trade in and Use of Prepared Opium of 1925; the International Opium Convention of 1925; the Convention for Limiting the Manufacture and Regulating the Distribution of Narcotic Drugs of 1931; the Agreement for the Control of Opium Smoking in the Far East of 1931; the Protocol Amending the Agreements, Conventions and Protocols on Narcotic Drugs of 1912; 1925, 1931, 1936, and 1946; the Protocol Bringing under International Control Drugs Outside the Scope of the Convention of 1931; and the Protocol for Limiting and Regulating the Cultivation of the Poppy Plant, the Production of, International and Wholesale Trade in, and Use of Opium of 1953.
1964 In the largest and most definitive study of its kind, the so-called Grand Rapids Study finds that the risk of a driver being involved in an accident rises sharply with his or her blood alcohol concentration. These findings are replicated a number of times in the future with a variety of modifications in variables studied.
1965 The Drug Abuse Control Amendments Act is passed for the purpose of dealing with problems caused by the use of stimulants, depressants, and hallucinogens. It authorizes the Food and Drug Administration to designate such drugs as controlled substances and to require that a federal license be obtained for their distribution and sale. The possession of small amounts of such drugs for personal use is allowed.
An advisory committee to the surgeon general issues a report, “Smoking and Health,” that represents the first significant review of the health effects of smoking. The report is instrumental in the passage in the same year of the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act, which, among other provisions, requires that all cigarette packages carry the warning label: “Caution: Cigarette Smoking May Be Hazardous to Your Health.”
1968 The Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs is formed as an agency within the U.S. Department of Justice. It combines the preexisting Bureau of Narcotics and Bureau of Drug Abuse Control.
1970 The U.S. Congress passes the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act in an effort to consolidate a number of earlier laws regulating the manufacture and distribution of narcotics, stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens, anabolic steroids, and chemicals used in the production of controlled substances. Title II of the act is called the Controlled Substances Act, which establishes a five-tier system of categorizing drugs that is still used today.
The U.S. Congress passes legislation banning cigarette advertising on television and radio. The ban takes effect in 1971. The cigarette industry voluntarily agrees to list tar and nicotine content on all cigarette packages.
The U.S. Congress passes the Comprehensive Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Prevention, Treatment, and Rehabilitation Act of 1970. One provision of the act establishes the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA), with the responsibility of conducting intramural research and supporting extramural research on issues of alcoholism and alcohol abuse.
1971 President Richard M. Nixon declares a “war on drugs,” calling for an aggressive anti-drug policy at both federal and state levels. He calls drug abuse “Public Enemy #1” in the United States.
The United Nations Protocol on Psychotropic Substances is adopted in Vienna. The purpose of the protocol is to expand coverage of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (which covered natural substances and their derivatives exclusively) to a host of synthetic psychotropic substances, such as ketamine, ephedrine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), and tetrahydrocannabinol not covered by the 1931 agreement.
1972 The National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse (also known as the Shafer Commission, after its chairman) issues its report, recommending, among other things, that simple possession of marijuana be decriminalized and that all distinctions between legal and illegal drugs be dropped. The commission has been created by the U.S. Congress by Public Law 91–513 to study the problem of substance abuse in the United States. President Richard M. Nixon declines to implement any of the commission’s recommendations.
1973 As part of the Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1973, President Richard M. Nixon establishes the Drug Enforcement Administration to replace the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, the Office of Drug Abuse Law Enforcement, and a handful of other federal agencies with drug control responsibilities.
The Methadone Control Act provides funding for the establishment of clinics through which recovering heroin addicts can receive methadone therapy.
1974 The National Institute on Drug Abuse is created to conduct research on drug abuse and drug addiction.
1976 The Democratic Party national platform calls for decriminalization of marijuana, with the abolishment of all penalties for possession of one ounce or less of the drug.
1978 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration introduces the Compassionate Investigational New Drug program, allowing a small number of patients to use marijuana grown at a federal facility at the University of Mississippi to relieve symptoms of medical conditions. Currently four individuals remain in that program.
The U.S. Congress passes the American Indian Religious Freedom Act that acknowledges the elements of traditional Native American religious ceremonies and the conflicts that may arise between those ceremonies and some U.S. laws. It declares that Native Americans do have the right to practice their traditional religious customs. The use of peyote is implicitly, but not explicitly, guaranteed by this act.
1984 The 1965 Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act is amended to require that one of four warning labels appear in a specific format on cigarette packages and in most related advertising: “SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Smoking Causes Lung Cancer, Heart Disease, Emphysema, and May Complicate Pregnancy,” “SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Quitting Smoking Now Greatly Reduces Serious Risks to Your Health,” “SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Smoking by Pregnant Women May Result in Fetal Injury, Premature Birth, and Low Birth Weight,” or “SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Cigarette Smoke Contains Carbon Monoxide.”
The U.S. Congress passes the National Minimum Drinking Age Act (also known as the Uniform Drinking Age Act) requiring all states to raise the minimum age for drinking to 21. Any state that refuses to adopt this standard is subject to loss of 10 percent of the funds due it annually under the Federal Aid Highway Act.
1985 Minnesota becomes the first state to enact legislation setting aside a portion of the state tobacco tax for smoking prevention programs.
1986 The U.S. Congress passes the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. The act consists of two major titles, one dealing with Anti-Drug Enforcement, and the other with International Narcotics Control. The first title is divided into 21 subtitles dealing with a host of issues, perhaps the most important of which is Subtitle E: Controlled Substances Analogue Enforcement Act of 1986, which states that substances that are chemically and pharmacologically similar to substances listed in Schedule I or Schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 (known as analogues of the listed drugs) are also classified as Schedule I drugs. Perhaps the most controversial section is Subtitle B: Drug Possession Penalty Act of 1986, which establishes the so-called 100-to-1 rule, in which possession of 100 grams of powder cocaine (the drug of choice among wealthy white Americans) is considered to be legally equivalent to 1 gram of crack cocaine (used most commonly by blacks).
President Ronald Reagan signs Executive Order 12564 requiring all federal agencies to establish drug-free workplace programs. First Lady Nancy Reagan launches her “Just Say No” campaign against drug use.
1988 The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 for the first time imposes penalties on the users of illegal drugs. Prior to this time, penalties for illegal drug use were limited to the producers and distributors of such substances. One provision of the act establishes the Office of National Drug Control Policy, with responsibility for developing policies for control of the nation’s drug abuse problems.
Francis L. Young, administrative law judge at the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), issues an opinion that marijuana has clear and unquestionable medical uses and should be reclassified as a Schedule II drug from its current status as a Schedule I drug. The DEA declines to act on that recommendation.
The U.S. Congress passes the Chemical Diversion and Trafficking Act, whose purpose it is to reduce the supply of precursor chemicals and manufacturing devices (such as pill machines) used in the manufacture of drugs. Prior to the law, the United States was the major supplier of these materials to (primarily) South American companies, where raw materials were converted to commercial-grade drugs.
The U.S. Congress passes the Drug Free Workplace Act, which extends President Ronald Reagan’s 1986 executive order to require all contractors and grantees of the federal government to develop programs for a drug-free workplace.
1990 The U.S. Congress passes legislation banning smoking on all U.S. commercial airline flights.
1992 President George H. W. Bush discontinues the Food and Drug Administration’s Compassionate Investigational New Drug program because it conflicts with his administration’s drug use policies.
1993 The U.S. Congress passes the Native American Free Exercise of Religion Act, which confirms, clarifies, and expands the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978. In particular, it specifically allows the use of peyote, a drug banned by the Controlled Substances Act of 1970.
1994 China passes the nation’s first laws requiring health warnings on cigarette packages, limiting tobacco advertising, and initiating anti-smoking programs.
Mississippi becomes the first state to sue the tobacco industry to recover costs for tobacco-related illnesses.
The Omnibus Crime Bill, introduced by then-senator Joseph Biden (D–DE), introduces the death penalty for anyone convicted of operating large-scale drug distribution programs, one of the first times the death penalty is permitted for crimes in which a death is not involved.
1995 The U.S. Sentencing Commission issues a report to the U.S. Congress confirming that serious racial imbalances exist in sentencing for powder cocaine and “crack” cocaine and recommending Congress act to ameliorate these disparities. Congress declines to do so, one of the very few times in history it refuses to follow the commission’s recommendations.
In the case of Vernonia v. Acton, the U.S. Supreme Court rules, in a vote of 6 to 3, that a school district may impose suspicionless drug tests on students who wish to engage in extracurricular activities.
1996 Arizona voters pass Proposition 200, otherwise known as the Drug, Medicalization, Prevention and Punishment Act, which requires that a person convicted of possession or use of an illegal drug receive drug treatment for the first and second offense, and a prison term only after the third such conviction. Physicians in the state are also authorized to write prescriptions for Schedule I drugs when federal law permits such actions.
The U.S. Congress passes the Drug-Induced Rape Prevention and Punishment Act, which provides for penalties of up to 20 years in prison for supplying a drug to another person with the intent of committing a crime, such as rape, against that person. The primary motivation for the act is the spread of so-called date rape, in which one person provides a second person with a psychoactive drug—most commonly ketamine, gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB), gamma butyrolactone (GBL), or Rohypnol—without that second person’s knowledge or approval.
California voters pass Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, which allows individuals with a doctor’s prescription to grow small amounts of marijuana for their own personal medical use.
The U.S. Congress passes the Comprehensive Methamphetamine Control Act, which further restricts the sale of precursors used in the production of methamphetamine, such as pseudoephedrine, iodine, red phosphorus, and hydrochloric acid.
1997 The tobacco industry reaches a settlement with 46 state attorneys general to pay $360 billion over a period of 25 years to fund anti-smoking campaigns, to add health warnings to cigarette packages, and to pay substantial fines if the number of teenage smokers is not reduced.
For the first time in history, a major tobacco executive, Bennett LeBow, CEO of Liggett, admits during public testimony that cigarette smoking causes cancer.
1998 The U.S. Congress passes the Controlled Substances Trafficking Prohibition Act, which limits the amount of certain controlled substances that a person can bring into the United States for personal use to 50 pills or less or a two-week supply. The law is designed to remove a loophole that previously allowed individuals to bring back unlimited quantities of Schedule II drugs, supposedly for their own personal medical needs but, in reality, for resale in the United States.
2000 The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the Food and Drug Administration does not have the authority to regulate tobacco products.
The Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 allows certain qualifying physicians to treat patients with opioid addictions using substances on Schedules III, IV, and V of the Controlled Substances Act. The only drug that meets this specification is buprenorphine.
President Bill Clinton signs a new federal law requiring all states to pass a law setting a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 percent as the legal limit. States that do not adopt this standard are to be denied a portion of the federal highway funding normally due them. Eventually 49 states do adopt such laws, the only exception being Massachusetts, where a BAC of 0.08 percent is considered legal proof of impairment, but is not illegal in and out itself.
The U.S. government gives $1.3 billion to Colombia for the purpose of improving its anti-drug campaign. The money is designated to be used for aerial spraying of coca and other drug crops, for training of Colombian troops in anti-drug programs, and for the purchase of equipment, such as helicopters, to be used against drug manufacturers and distributors.
2001 In the case of United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers’ Cooperative, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rules that marijuana has no medical value and that its sale by the Oakland Cannabis Buyers’ Cooperative (and similar organizations) is illegal.
2002 The British government changes its policies on the use of cannabis products, downgrading the drug from Class B to Class C. That change leaves the drug as an illegal substance, although an arrest for possession is likely to result in confiscation of the drug and a warning, but no prosecution, prison time, or fine.
2003 All forms of advertising for tobacco products in the United Kingdom is banned.
A ban by the European Union on the use of the terms “light” or “mild” on cigarette packages takes effect.
Concerned about the estimated 30,000 deaths annually caused by smoking, French president Jacques Chirac announces a “war on smoking” that includes an investment of more than $500 million for antismoking campaigns, a near-doubling of cigarette taxes, and greater limitations on places that people may smoke.
2004 All forms of advertising and promotions for tobacco products are banned in India.
2005 The U.S. Congress passes and President George W. Bush signs the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act, which includes, as an unrelated amendment, a version of the Combat Meth Act, originally proposed by Sen. James Talent (R–MO). One of the primary features of the act is the imposition of severe restrictions on the sale of cough and cold products whose ingredients can be used in the manufacture of methamphetamine.
In the case of Gonzales v. Raich, the U.S. Supreme Court rules, by a vote of 6 to 3, that it is illegal for medical doctors to write prescriptions for their patients to use marijuana for medical purposes.
2006 In the case of United States of America v. Philip Morris, Judge Gladys Kessler finds that U.S. tobacco companies have engaged in a “massive 50-year scheme to defraud the public, including consumers of cigarettes, in violation of RICO [Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act of 1970].” She imposes a fine of $280 billion on the tobacco companies.
2009 Congress approves the largest-ever increase in the federal cigarette tax, boosting it 62 cents, to $1.01 a pack.
The U.S. Congress passes and President Barack Obama signs the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control and Federal Retirement Reform act, which authorizes the Food and Drug Administration to regulate cigarettes and other tobacco products.
For the first time in history, the number of fatalities due to prescription drugs exceeds the number of deaths from vehicle accidents in the United States.
2010 The U.S. Congress adopts the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which outlines the circumstances under which a person “who has lawfully obtained a controlled substance in accordance with this title may, without being registered, deliver the controlled substance to another person for the purpose of disposal of the controlled substance.”
The state of Florida passes the nation’s first pill-mill-type bill, setting standards for doctors who prescribe narcotics.
2011 Representative Barney Frank (D–MA) introduces legislation that would remove marijuana from the list of controlled substances (i.e., decriminalize marijuana in the United States). He introduces a second bill that would require the secretary of health and human services to recommend a relisting of marijuana under some category other than Schedules I or II and declares that federal regulations shall not be construed to conflict with the decisions of individual states to permit the medical use of marijuana. Neither bill is acted upon.
2012 Voters in the state of Colorado approve Amendment 64, which permits the personal use of marijuana in the state. “Personal use” includes the cultivation of three immature and three mature cannabis plants and possession of one ounce of marijuana by individuals over the age of 21. Voters in Washington adopt a similar law that permits possession, but not growing, of marijuana.
2014 The U.S. House of Representatives passes a bill prohibiting the Drug Enforcement Administration from using funds to arrest medical cannabis patients in states with medical cannabis laws.
2015 An outbreak of HIV infections in rural Scott County, Indiana, is attributed to sharing of needles by individuals addicted to the opioid analgesic Opana (oxymorphone). As of mid-May 2015, more than 150 new cases of HIV had been diagnosed that could be traced to this nonmedical use of Opana. Indiana governor Mike Pence (Republican) reluctantly agrees to a needle exchange program to which he had previously been opposed as a possible way for ending the spread of the epidemic.
DEA agents carry out raids in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi targeting pharmacists, physicians, and street-dealers who are selling prescription drugs for nonmedical purposes. More than 200 individuals are arrested as a result of the raids, which DEA officials called the “largest operation against illegal trafficking of prescription drugs” in U.S. history.
As of the end of 2015, 34 states have adopted one or more laws dealing with prescription drug abuse. No federal legislation has yet been adopted on the issue.
2016 A review of the impact of new marijuana laws published in the Journal of Addiction Medicine finds an increase in the number of adults using marijuana over the past decade, no change in the number of adolescents using the substance, a decrease in marijuana-related arrests, and an increase in the number of treatment admissions for the drug.
The state legislatures of Ohio and Pennsylvania approve the use of marijuana for medical purposes, bringing to 25 the number of states (and the District of Columbia) that have taken such actions by one means or another.
Congress passes a bill providing funding for opioid and heroin addiction programs. The three main components of the bill are new programs for diverting people stopped for minor opioid infractions from the criminal justice system into treatment programs; extended use of medications such as methadone and buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid addiction; and expanded use of naloxone by first responders in the treatment of opioid overdoses. 2017 Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy issues the first ever national report on substance abuse in a document entitled “Facing Addiction in America: The Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health.”