|
|
|
"Denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live
soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world." (Titus 2:12)
| 2012 | -
• An increase in new and more dangerous street drugs.“Ivory Wave,” “Purple Wave,” “Vanilla Sky,” and “Bliss” -- all are among the many street names of a so-called designer drug known as “bath salts,” which has sparked thousands of calls to poison centers across the U.S. over the last year. The presumption is that most bath salts are MDPV (methylenedioxypyrovalerone) although newer pyrovalerone derivatives are being made by illegal street chemists. Agitation, increased pulse, paranoia, hallucinations, chest pain, suicidality are its effects. Some of these effects are said to linger in the body causing uncontrollable waves of the afore mentioned symptoms. http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/features/bath-salts-drug-dangers
|
2012 | -
• The legalization of marijuana is still a controversial topic. In the 2012 Presidential Election three states are voting to fully legalize marijuana. Not medical marijuana or decriminalizing it. Full legislation could be a reality in Colorado, Oregon and Washington State. Some experts say that Colorado stands the best chance of passage.
|
2011 | -
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), in an article on its website that was updated in March 2011, reports that the cost of drug abuse and addiction (with the cost including productivity and health- and crime-related costs) tops $600 billion a year. That includes approximately $181 billion for illicit drugs, $193 billion for tobacco, and $235 billion for alcohol (http://www.drugabuse.gov/infofacts/understand.html).
|
2010 | -
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s 2010 “Monitoring the Future” report (www.monitoringthefuture.org), marijuana use continued to rise in 2010 for 10th, 11th, and 12th graders. Daily marijuana use increased in 2010, with nearly 1 in 16 high school seniors being a current daily or near-daily user.
|
2010 | -
According to the Mexican attorney general’s office, the total number of organized crime-related homicides, which includes drug-related killings, showed a dramatic increase. “While the upward trend in violence dates back to 2005, the major increase in violence came after a dramatic spike in 2008, as organized crime-related homicides jumped to 6,837 killings, a 142 percent increase from 2007. After another increase of more than 40 percent to 9,614 killings in 2009, the number of killings linked to organized crime jumped by 59 percent in 2010, reaching a new record total of 15,273 deaths” (http://drugwarfacts.org/cms/?q=node/34).
|
2009 |
-
Mexico decriminalized
small amounts (deemed appropriate for personal use) of
marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other illicit drugs with
the intent of freeing up law enforcement to focus on
fighting organized crime. The legal amount of marijuana is
5 grams, or about four joints. The limit for cocaine is a
half gram, which is approximately 4 "lines". In addition,
the limits are 50 milligrams of heroin, 40 milligrams for
methamphetamine and 0.015 milligrams for LSD....Former
President Vincente Fox is suggesting that Mexico consider
taking the next step of legalizing drug consumption
entirely.
|
2009 |
-
California Democratic State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano is spearheading a marijuana legalization bill. Many believe the need to increase state tax revenues will work in the bill's favor. If legalized, marijuana could become California's No. 1 cash crop, bringing in an estimated $1 billion a year in state taxes. Richard Lee, a medical marijuana grower/distributor in California and avid supporter of legalization looks at it this way, "For some people cannabis is like a religion. As passionate as some people are about their religions and freedom to think what they want and to worship as they want."
|
| 2008 |
- Websites are targeting
children with "digital
drugs". They sell audio
files which consist of
binaural beats, which must
be used with head phones and
play different sounds in
each ear. They are not in
and of themselves "music"
but sound waves designed to
induce drug-like effects,
and they can be embedded
into music. Various
"services" are provided,
depending on the website,
but among them are binaural
beats made to mimic the
effects of alcohol,
marijuana, LSD, crack,
heroin, and some are even
supposed to simulate sexual
desire, heaven and hell. A
Duke University study
suggests that binaural beats
can affect mood and motor
performance.
|
| 2006 |
- Approximately 35.3
million Americans aged
12 and older had tried
cocaine at least once in
their lifetimes,
representing 14.3% of
the population aged 12
and older.
- Approximately 6.1
million (2.5%) had used
cocaine in the past year
and 2.4 million (1.0%)
had used cocaine within
the past month
- An estimated 97.8
million Americans aged
12 or older tried
marijuana at least once
in their lifetimes,
representing 39.8% of
the U.S. population in
that age group.
- Among 12-17 year
olds surveyed 6.7%
reported past month
marijuana use.
- 2.1 million persons
aged 12 or older who had
used marijuana for the
first time within the
past 12 months
- 62 percent of adults
age 26 or older who
initiated marijuana
before they were 15
years old reported that
they had used cocaine in
their lifetime. More
than 9 percent reported
they had used heroin and
53.9 percent reported
non-medical use of
psychotherapeutics
- In 2006 there were
an estimated 731,000
current users of
methamphetamine, aged 12
or older Among persons
aged 12 or older, there
were 259,000 recent, new
users of methamphetamine
- There were 977,000
persons aged 12 or older
who had used cocaine for
the first time within
the past 12 months; this
averages to
approximately 2,700
initiates per day
- Drug use among
minors and young adults
- 15.7% of eighth
graders, 31.8% of
tenth graders, and
42.3% of twelfth
graders reported
lifetime use of
marijuana
- 46.9% of college
students and 56.7%
of young adults
(ages 19-28)
surveyed reported
lifetime use of
marijuana
- 3.4% of eighth
graders, 4.8% of
tenth graders, and
8.5% of twelfth
graders reported
lifetime use of
cocaine.
- 2.3% of eighth
graders, 2.2% of
tenth graders, and
3.5% of twelfth
graders reported
lifetime use of
crack cocaine.
- 2.7% of eighth
graders, 3.2% of
tenth graders, and
4.4% of twelfth
graders reported
lifetime use of
methamphetamine.
- 2.9% of college
students and 7.3% of
young adults (ages
19-28) reported
lifetime use of
methamphetamine
- 20.2% of eighth
graders, 30.7% of
tenth graders, and
42.5% of twelfth
graders surveyed
reported that powder
cocaine was "fairly
easy" or "very easy"
to obtain
|
| 2002 |
Illicit Drug
Anti-Proliferation Act of
2003
The Illicit Drug
Anti-Proliferation Act makes
it easier for prosecutors to
charge, convict, and
imprison property owners,
business owners, and
managers -- who fail to
prevent drug-related
offenses committed by
customers, employees,
tenants, or other persons on
their property. This
legislation also adds a
civil liability clause to
the existing criminal code
|
| 2002 |
Drug Sentencing
Reform Act (2SHB 2338) is
passed
This bill revises sentences
for non-violent drug
offenders with the intention
to use the savings created
by shorter sentences to
increase access to substance
abuse treatment for
offenders. Research shows
that court supervised
treatment is more effective
in reducing recidivism than
imprisonment alone.
No Child Left Behind Act is
signed on January 8 by
President Bush.
The No Child Left Behind Act
(NCLB) of 2001, Public Law
107-110, which reauthorized
the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (ESEA)
is signed. The Safe and
Drug-Free Schools and
Communities Act (SDFSCA)
(Title IV, Part A of the
ESEA) authorizes a variety
of activities designed to
prevent school violence and
youth drug use. The purpose
of the SDFSCA is to support
programs that: (1) prevent
violence in and around
schools; (2) prevent the
illegal use of alcohol,
tobacco, and drugs; (3)
involve parents and
communities; and, (4) are
coordinated with related
Federal, State, school, and
community efforts and
resources to foster a safe
and drug-free learning
environment that promotes
student academic achievement
Indian Alcohol and
Substance Abuse Program is
created by the U.S. Bureau
of Justice Assitance.
The IASAP was developed to
help tribes plan and
implement comprehensive,
system-wide strategies to
reduce and control crime
associated with the
distribution and abuse of
alcohol and controlled
substances. During the
program's first year, 25
tribes were eligible to
apply under three funding
categories, including law
enforcement, treatment, or a
combined/comprehensive
component. |
| 2000 |
Substance Abuse
Prevention Specialist
Training Curriculum (SAPST)
is created to train
Prevention Specialists
The curriculum is divided
into eight separate
sections. Each section
functions as an independent
building block that orients
new professionals to the
field of prevention. This
curriculum is not designed
to answer every prevention
question or to provide an
exhaustive overview of the
field. Instead, it offers
core knowledge modules that
begin the lifelong process
of educating the profession
about substance abuse
prevention. The Substance
Abuse Prevention Specialist
Training (SAPST) was
developed to introduce
beginning prevention
professionals to the
fundamentals of prevention.
However, prevention
professionals that have been
in the field for many years
have attended the course and
have stated that they
learned new information and
learned about how to apply
research |
| 1997 |
Drug-Free Schools and
Communities Act becomes a
law
On June 27, 1997, the
Drug-Free Communities Act of
1997 became law. This Act is
a catalyst for increased
citizen participation in
efforts to reduce substance
use among youth, and it
provides community anti-drug
coalitions with much-needed
funds to carry out their
important missions. The
White House Office of
National Drug Control Policy
(ONDCP) directs the
Drug-Free Communities
Support Program in
partnership with the
Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services
Administration. This
anti-drug program provides
grants of up to $100,000 to
community coalitions that
mobilize their communities
to prevent youth alcohol,
tobacco, illicit drug, and
inhalant abuse. |
| 1996 |
Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency
Prevention is formed
The Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency
Prevention (OJJDP) was
established by the President
and Congress through the
Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention
(JJDP) Act of 1974. OJJDP
supports states and
communities in their efforts
to develop and implement
effective and coordinated
prevention and intervention
programs and to improve the
juvenile justice system so
that it protects public
safety, holds offenders
accountable, and provides
treatment and rehabilitative
services tailored to the
needs of juveniles and their
families.
International drug
trafficking organizations
aggressively marketing
heroin in US and Europe
International drug
trafficking organizations,
including China, Nigeria,
Colombia and Mexico are said
to be "aggressively
marketing heroin in the
United States and Europe."
|
| 1995 |
The Golden Triangle
region of Southeast Asia the
leader in opium production
The Golden Triangle region
of Southeast Asia is now the
leader in opium production,
yielding 2,500 tons
annually. According to U.S.
drug experts, there are new
drug trafficking routes from
Burma through Laos, to
southern China, Cambodia and
Vietnam. |
| 1994 |
Efforts to eradicate
opium at its source remains
unsuccessful
The Clinton Administration
orders a shift in policy
away from the anti- drug
campaigns of previous
administrations. Instead the
focus includes "institution
building" with the hope that
by "strengthening democratic
governments abroad, [it]
will foster law-abiding
behavior and promote
legitimate economic
opportunity."
Kurt
Cobain, lead singer of the
Seattle-based alternative
rock band, Nirvana, dies of
heroin-related suicide
|
| 1993 |
Pablo Escobar, leader
of the Medallin Cartel is
killed
On December 2, 1993, Pablo
Escobar as he tried to
capture. Using radio
triangulation technology
provided as part of the
United States efforts, a
Colombian electronic
surveillance team found him
hiding in a middle-class
barrio in Medellin. The
shootout with Escobar ensued
after the house was located.
How Escobar was killed
during the confrontation has
been debated but it is known
that he was cornered on the
rooftops of Medellin and
after a prolonged gunfight,
suffered gunshots to the
leg, torso, and the fatal
one in his ear. After
Escobar's death, the
Medellin Cartel fragmented
and the cocaine market soon
became dominated by the
rival Cali Cartel
Twenty-three-year-old actor
River Phoenix dies of a
heroin-cocaine overdose
|
| 1992 |
The Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA is
created)
The Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA), an
agency of the U.S.
Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS), was
established by an act of
Congress in 1992 under
Public Law 102-321. With the
stroke of a pen, an agency,
separate and distinct from
the National Institutes of
Health or any other agency
within the HHS, was created
to focus attention,
programs, and funding on
improving the lives of
people with or at risk for
mental and substance abuse
disorders
The Center
for Substance Abuse
Treatment (CSAT) of SAMHSA
was created
CSAT was created in October
1992 with a congressional
mandate to expand the
availability of effective
treatment and recovery
services for alcohol and
drug problems. Its mission
is to improve the lives of
individuals and families
affected by alcohol and drug
abuse by ensuring access to
clinically sound, cost
effective addiction
treatment that reduces the
health and social costs to
our communities and the
nation
Center for
Substance Abuse Prevention
(CSAP) of SAMHSA is
established
The Center for Substance
Abuse Prevention (CSAP) was
established in 1992 as one
of three centers within the
Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA).
CSAP's goal was to improve
the accessibility and
quality of services of
substance abuse prevention
services nationwide. CSAP
was the successor of the
Office of Substance Abuse
Prevention (OSAP) that was
created in 1986 through the
Drug Abuse Act to provide
leadership for prevention.
Community Anti-Drug
Coalitions of America
(CADCA) is formed in October
In 1992 the President's Drug
Advisory Council (PDAC),
encouraged the formation of
CADCA to respond to the
dramatic growth in the
number of substance abuse
coalitions and their need to
share ideas, problems, and
solutions. The organization
was officially launched in
October 1992. The
organization has evolved to
become the principal
national substance abuse
prevention organization
working with community-based
coalitions and representing
their interests at the
national level.
First
observance of the National
Alcohol and Drug Addiction
Recovery Month in September
Recovery Month, sponsored by
the newly created CSAT,
provides a platform to
celebrate people in recovery
and those who serve them.
Each September, thousands of
treatment programs around
the country celebrate their
successes and share them
with their neighbors,
friends, and colleagues in
an effort to educate the
public about treatment, how
it works, for whom, and why.
NIDA becomes part of
the National Institute of
Health (NIH)
As an NIH institute, NIDA
has built on past research,
engaged in collaborative
research with other NIH
institutes, and has seized
the opportunities presented
by new research technologies
and methodologies in
molecular biology,
neuroscience, and brain
imaging to accelerate the
pace of scientific
discoveries about drug abuse
Colombia's drug lords
are said to be introducing a
high-grade form of heroin
into the United States
|
| 1991 |
Join Together is
founded
Join Together is a program
of the Boston University
School of Public Health.
Since 1991 it has been the
nation's leading provider of
information, strategic
planning assistance, and
leadership development for
community-based efforts to
advance effective alcohol
and drug policy, prevention,
and treatment. Join Together
helps community leaders
understand and use the most
current scientifically valid
prevention and treatment
approaches.
|
| 1990 |
Addiction Medicine
becomes a specialty
ASAM was admitted to the
American Medical Association
(AMA) House of Delegates as
a voting member in June
1988, and in June 1990 the
AMA added addiction Medicine
(ADM) to its list of
designated specialties
U.S. Court indicts Khun
Sa, leader of the Shan
United Army and reputed drug
warlord
A U.S. Court indicts Khun
Sa, leader of the Shan
United Army and reputed drug
warlord, on heroin
trafficking charges. The
U.S. Attorney General's
office charges Khun Sa with
importing 3,500 pounds of
heroin into New York City
over the course of eighteen
months, as well as holding
him responsible for the
source of the heroin seized
in Bangkok |
| 1989 |
The first Drug Court
is founded in Miami
The Miami Drug Court which
was implemented in 1989 with
the assistance of Attorney
General Janet Reno, was the
first of its kind and
introduced the basic
philosophy which
characterizes all
subsequently developed
programs
Medellin
Cartel declares war on
Columbian government
On August 18, 1989, the
Cartel declared "total and
absolute war" against the
Colombian government,
seeking to stop potential
extradition of its
members.[5] The strategy
consisted in terrorizing the
civilian population and
cornering the government.
The cartel conducted
hundreds of terrorist
attacks against civilian and
governmental targets |
| 1988 |
The Anti-Drug Abuse
Act of 1988 creates the
White House Office of Drug
Control Policy (ONDCP)
The ONDCP, an Executive
branch office, was created
by this Act and was directed
toward preventing the
manufacture of scheduled
drugs and included increased
penalties to further
discourage drug use
The High Intensity Drug
Trafficking Area Program is
established
The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of
1988 and the ONDCP
Reauthorization Act of 1998
authorized the Director of
The Office of National Drug
Control Policy (ONDCP) to
designate areas within the
United States which exhibit
serious drug trafficking
problems and harmfully
impact other areas of the
country as High Intensity
Drug Trafficking Areas
(HIDTA). The HIDTA Program
provides additional federal
resources to those areas to
help eliminate or reduce
drug trafficking and its
harmful consequences. Law
enforcement organizations
within HIDTAs assess drug
trafficking problems and
design specific initiatives
to reduce or eliminate the
production, manufacture,
transportation, distribution
and chronic use of illegal
drugs and money laundering
Opium production in
Burma increases
Opium production in Burma
increases under the rule of
the State Law and Order
Restoration Council (SLORC),
the Burmese junta regime.
The single largest heroin
seizure is made in Bangkok.
The U.S. suspects that the
2,400-pound shipment of
heroin, en route to New York
City, originated from the
Golden Triangle region,
controlled by drug warlord,
Khun Sa.
About
300,000 infants were born
addicted to cocaine |
| 1987 |
The American Medical
Association defines all drug
dependencies as diseases
The AMA call all drug
dependencies diseases whose
treatment is a legitimate
part of medical practice
The Supreme Court upholds
its 1933 ruling that
Veterans Administration (VA)
can define alcoholism as the
result of "willful
misconduct" rather than as a
disease
The Supreme Court entered
the contentious debate over
the nature of alcoholism
last week when it ruled 4 to
3 that the Veterans
Administration (VA) can
define alcoholism as the
result of "willful
misconduct" rather than as a
disease in determining
veterans' eligibility for
education benefits |
| 1986 |
Federal Omnibus Drug
Enforcement, Education, and
Control Act of 1986 (a.k.a
Anti-Drug Abuse Act)
Signed by President Reagan
and passed with a nearly
unanimous vote, the Act
instituted five and ten year
mandatory minimum sentences
and also the possibility of
the death penalty for
certain drug offenses The
bill strengthens Federal
efforts to encourage foreign
cooperation in eradicating
illicit drug crops and in
halting international drug
traffic, improves
enforcement of Federal drug
laws and enhances
interdiction of illicit drug
shipments, provides strong
Federal leadership in
establishing effective drug
abuse prevention and
education programs, expands
Federal support for drug
abuse treatment and
rehabilitation efforts.
Analogue (Designer Drug)
Act
Makes composition and use of
substances with similar
effects and structure to
existing illicit drug
illegal
Federal Block
Grant's are established
When Congress passed the
1986 Federal Omnibus Drug
Act; the act included the
Federal Block Grant which
dramatically increased the
primary prevention resources
allocated to the states.
Funding was also increased
to schools, K-12 and Higher
Education, and communities
through the development of
the Drug Free Schools and
Communities Programs
Drug-Free Schools and
Communities Act is passed
Federal Money to fund
statewide Prevention
Programs. The purpose of
Title IV: Safe and
Drug‑Free Schools and
Communities (SDFSC) of the
No Child Left Behind Act is
to support programs designed
to prevent the illegal use
of alcohol, tobacco, and
other drugs. To accomplish
this purpose, federal
financial assistance is
provided to states for
grants to establish,
operate, and improve local
programs of school drug and
violence prevention, early
intervention, rehabilitation
referral, and education in
elementary and secondary
schools
Partnership
for Drug-Free America is
founded
The Partnership for a
Drug-Free America is a
nonprofit coalition of
communication, health,
medical and educational
professionals working to
reduce illicit drug use and
help people live healthy,
drug-free lives. The
Partnership’s
research-based, educational
campaigns are disseminated
through all forms of media,
including TV, radio and
print advertisements and
over the Internet. We have
utilized the pro-bono work
of the country’s best
advertising, PR and
interactive agencies, and
the donated time and space
of major media, to create
the largest public service
campaign in the nation’s
history
Victims
Panels Institutes are
founded by Mother's Against
Drunk Driving (M.A.D.D.)
MADD establishes Victim
Assistance Institutes to
train volunteers in
supporting victims of drunk
driving and serving as their
advocates in the criminal
justice system |
| 1984 |
Federal legislation
creates age 21 as national
minimum drinking age
The first law to direct
Federal funds specifically
to assist state efforts in
preventing child abuse and
neglect. Amendments to the
law in 1992 and 1994
broadened the earlier
legislation to include the
provision of community-based
child abuse prevention
activities and family
resource
Drug
Offenders Act
Sets up special programs for
offenders and organizes
treatment
Wholesale
Price of Cocaine
The wholesale cost of 1
kilogram of cocaine is
$25,000, down from $55,000
in 1981
Crop
substitution programs
insufficient
U.S. State Department
officials conclude, after
more than a decade of crop
substitution programs for
Third World growers of
marijuana, coca or opium
poppies, that the tactic
cannot work without
eradication of the plants
and criminal enforcement.
Poor results are reported
from eradication programs in
Burma, Pakistan, Mexico and
Peru |
| 1983 |
Drug Abuse Resistance
Education (D.A.R.E.) Program
founded
D.A.R.E. was founded in 1983
in Los Angeles and has
proven so successful that it
is now being implemented in
75 percent of our nation's
school districts and in more
than 43 countries around the
world. D.A.R.E. is a police
officer-led series of
classroom lessons that
teaches children from
kindergarten through 12th
grade how to resist peer
pressure and live productive
drug and violence-free lives
American Society of
Addiction Medicine (ASAM)
adopts Public Policy of
alcoholism as a primary
disease
Project
ALERT curriculum is created
by the RAND Corporation
Project ALERT is a drug
prevention curriculum for
middle-school students (11
to 14 years old), which
dramatically reduces both
the onset and regular use of
substances. The 2-year,
14-lesson program focuses on
the substances that
adolescents are most likely
to use: alcohol, tobacco,
marijuana, and inhalants.
Project ALERT use
participatory activities and
videos to help: Motivate
adolescents against drug
use, teach adolescents the
skills and strategies needed
to resist pro-drug
pressures, and establish
non-drug-using norms |
| 1982 |
Betty Ford Center
founded
Mrs. Ford and Leonard
Firestone were co-chairmen
and founders of the Betty
Ford Center at Eisenhower,
located in Rancho Mirage,
California, opening in
October 1982. The Center's
treatment program assists
women, men and their
families in starting the
process of recovery from
alcoholism and other drug
dependency
Comedian
John Belushi of Animal House
fame, dies of a
heroin-cocaine- "speedball"
overdose |
| 1980 |
Drug Abuse
Prevention, Treatment, and
Rehabilitation Amendments
Extends prevention education
and treatment programs
Mothers Against Drunk
Driving (MADD) is founded
Mothers Against Drunk
Drivers (MADD) is
established in California in
May. The first two chapters
of MADD are created in
California and Maryland.
MADD holds its first
national press conference in
Washington, D.C., with
members of Congress and the
National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration
(NHTSA) in October, putting
the drunk driving issue and
the organization on the
nation's radar screen |
| 1978 |
Drug Abuse
Prevention, Treatment, and
Rehabilitation Amendments
Extends prevention education
and treatment programs |
| 1975 |
U.S. Department of
Heath and Human Services
codifies regulations on
Confidentiality of Alcohol
and Drug Abuse Patient
Records
Congress recognized that the
stigma associated with
substance abuse and fear of
prosecution deterred people
from entering treatment and
enacted legislation that
gave patients a right to
confidentiality |
| 1974 |
National Institute on
Drug Abuse (NIDA) is
established
NIDA is established as the
Federal focal point for
research, treatment,
prevention and training
services, and data
collection on the nature and
extent of drug abuse
The Association of Labor and
Management Administrators
and Consultants on
Alcoholism, or ALMACA is
created
LMACA provided another major
boost to the Employee
Assistance Program movement.
ALMACA contributed to the
dissemination and
enhancement of EAP knowledge
|
| 1973 |
Drug Enforcement
Agency (DEA) Established
In 1973, President Richard
Nixon's Reorganization Plan
Number Two proposed the
creation of a single federal
agency to enforce federal
drug laws and Congress
accepted the proposal, as
they were concerned with the
growing availability of
drugs. On July 1, 1973, the
Bureau of Narcotics and
Dangerous Drugs (BNDD) and
the Office of Drug Abuse Law
Enforcement (ODALE) merged
together to create the DEA
Alcohol, Drug Abuse,
and Mental Health
Administration (ADAMHA)
Consolidates the National
Institute on Mental Health
(NIMH), the National
Institute on Drug Abuse
(NIDA), and the National
Institute on Alcohol Abuse
and Alcoholism (NIAAA) under
a single umbrella
organization
Heroin
Traffkicking Act
Increases penalities for the
distribution of heroin
Methadone Control Act
Regulates methadone
licensing. |
| 1972 |
Drug Abuse Office and
Treatment Act
increasing concern about
drug abuse and its causes
and impacts resulted in the
act that requires the
development of long-term
federal strategy
encompassing both effective
law enforcement against
illegal drug traffic and
effective health programs to
rehabilitate victims of drug
abuse. The act requires any
private or public general
hospital receiving federal
support to not discriminate
against drug abusers with
medical conditions because
of their drug abuse or drug
dependence.
Treatment
Alternatives to Street Crime
(TASC) is created
TASC is created by the Drug
Abuse and Treatment Act to
screen addicts in the
criminal justice system and
then to link and manage
their involvement in
treatment services
The National Association of
Alcohol and Drug Abuse
Counselors (NAADAC) is
founded
NAADAC (now known as the
Association for Addiction
Professionals), is the
largest membership
organization serving
addiction counselors,
educators and other
addiction-focused health
care professionals, who
specialize in addiction
prevention, treatment and
education. Founded in 1972,
NAADAC was created to
represent the interests and
concerns of substance abuse
counselors |
| 1970 |
The Comprehensive
Drug Abuse Prevention and
Control Act (Uniform
Controlled Substances Act)
Congress found that the
illegal importation,
manufacture, distribution,
and possession and improper
sale of controlled
substances have a
substantial and detrimental
effect on the health and
general welfare of the
American people. Almost
every state has enacted the
Uniform Controlled Substance
Act, intended to provide a
foundation for a
coordinated, federal-state
system of drug control
The Comprehensive Alcohol
Abuse and Alcoholism
Prevention, Treatment, and
Rehabilitation Act of 1970
Referred to as the “Hughes
Act” for the pivotal role
played by Senator Harold E.
Hughes (IA) in its passage,
this law recognized alcohol
abuse and alcoholism as
major public health problems
and created the National
Institute on Alcohol Abuse
and Alcoholism (NIAAA) to
combat them. |
| 1969 |
Dangerous Substance
Act
Classified all drugs, except
nicotine and alcohol, by
their medical use and
addictive potential |
| 1968 |
DACA Amendments
Provides that sentence may
be suspended and record
expunged if no further
violations within 1 year
|
| 1967 |
The American Medical
Association adopts the
disease concept of
alcoholism.
The AMA passes a resolution
identifying alcoholism as a
"complex disease," and a
"disease that merits the
serious concern of all
members of the health
professions." |
| 1966 |
Narcotic Addict
Rehabilitation Act (NARA)
This legislation was
designed to allow the use of
the federal courts and
criminal-justice system to
compel drug addicts to
participate in treatment.
Several developments
provided the context for
this legislation. In the
early 1960s, the problem of
narcotic drug use and
addiction were perceived to
be increasing. There was
also a perception that
treatment was not
particularly effective and
that the relapse rate was
high.
President
Lyndon Johnson proclaims
alcoholism as a disease
President Johnson appoints
the first National Advisory
Committee on Alcoholism and
becomes the first President
to address the country about
alcoholism, “The alcoholic
suffers from a disease which
will yield eventually to
scientific research and
adequate treatment.
The Johnson Institute is
founded in Minnesota
The Johnson Institute was
formed and dedicated to
designing treatment programs
as well as educating
individuals, families,
professionals, and entire
communities about addiction
disease. The Johnson
Institute is named after
Rev. Vernon Johnson, an
Episcopal priest who
convened a Minnesota church
study group to figure out
how to convince alcoholics
to accept help before
incurring tragic
consequences of their
drinking. The result was the
first application of the
intervention concept that
would become the standard
approach for getting
alcoholics into treatment.
From that first historic new
insight came “Minnesota
Model” programs that have
helped hundreds of thousands
of recovering alcoholics
around the world |
| 1965 |
Drug Abuse Control
Act (DACA) amendments
The DACA amendments modified
the Food, Drug, and
Cosmetics Act and allowed
the Secretary of Health,
Education, and Welfare to
designate certain
"stimulant, depressant, or
hallucinogenic" drugs as
controlled, requiring
licensing for sales and
distribution. Possession for
personal consumption or
administration to animals
was specifically allowed
under this law. The
amendments also established
The Bureau of Drug Abuse
Control within the Food and
Drug Administration to
enforce the Drug Abuse
Control Act. |
| 1960 |
E.M. Jellinek
publishes "The Disease
Concept of Alcoholism."
Jellinek coined the
expression "the disease
concept of alcoholism", and
significantly accelerated
the movement towards the
medicalization of
drunkenness and alcohol
habituation. In his 1960
book he identified five
different types of
alcoholism, and defined them
in terms of their abnormal
physiological processes.
|
| 1956 |
The Narcotic Control
Act (a.k.a Daniel Act)
The act increased the
minimum and maximum
penalties for all drug
offenses to two-to-ten
years, five-to-twenty years,
and ten-to-forty years for
succeeding convictions;
increased the fine in an
categories to $20,000; and
imposed five-to-twenty years
upon first conviction for
any smuggling or sale
violation, and ten-to-forty
years thereafter, with a
separate penalty of
ten-to-forty years or any
sale or distribution by a
person over eighteen to a
minor, and from ten years to
life, or death when a jury
so recommended, if the drug
was heroin. All discretion
to suspend sentences or
grant probation, and all
parole eligibility were
prohibited except for first
offenders convicted of
possession only. Narcotic
agents and customs officers
were given authority to
carry guns, to serve
warrants, and to arrest
without warrant. A new
compounding offense was
added to allow an extra
charge and added sentence in
prosecuting federal drug
cases-making use of any
interstate communication
facility in connection with
a drug violation, carrying a
separate two-to-five-year
term and $5,000 fine. No
addict, drug user, or drug
offender was to be allowed
to enter or leave the United
States without registering
at the border. Conviction on
the failure to comply was
subject to a minimum
imprisonment of one year and
as much as three years, plus
a discretionary fine of
$1,000. The 1956 Act
simultaneously amended the
immigration laws to make
narcotic offenses grounds
for the exclusion or
deportation of aliens, and
to preclude courts from
recommending against
deportation in proceedings
involving convicted narcotic
offenders
The
American Medical Association
recognizes alcoholics as
treatable patients
The AMA stopped short of
declaring alcoholism as a
disease, but does recognize
alcoholics as legitimate
patients, "Hospitals should
be urged to consider
admission of such patients
with a diagnosis of
alcoholism based upon the
condition of the individual
patient, rather than a
general objection to all
such patients." |
| 1954 |
American Medical
Society on Alcoholism (AMSA
later to become ASAM) is
established
ASAM has its roots in
research and clinical
traditions that pre-date its
founding in the early
1950's, when Ruth Fox, M.D.
began regular meetings with
other physicians interested
in alcoholism and its
treatment at the New York
Academy of Medicine. In 1954
these physicians established
the New York City Medical
Society on Alcoholism with
Dr. Fox as its first
President. As the
organization grew, it was
subsequently named the
American Medical Society on
alcoholism (AMSA) |
| 1951 |
The Boggs Act creates
mandatory minimum sentencing
for drug related convictions
In the years immediately
following the World War II
levels of illicit drug use
began to rise steadily
again. This caused concern
in the Bureau of Narcotics
and resulted in modification
in the penalties associated
with the Harrison Act
violations The Boggs Act
nearly quadrupled the
penalties for narcotics
offenses and categorized
marijuana together with
narcotic drugs
Durham-Humphrey Amendment
The Durham-Humphrey
Amendment, also known as the
Prescription Drug Amendment,
resolved the issues left
open by the 1938 Food, Drug,
and Cosmetic Act. It
established two classes of
drugs: prescription and Over
the Counter (OTC). Prior to
the passage of this
amendment, drug
manufacturers were generally
free to determine in which
category their drug
belonged. A subsection of
this amendment granted the
FDA the authority to
categorize prescription
drugs as those that are
habit-forming, unsafe for
use except under the
supervision of a health care
practitioner, and/or subject
to the new drug application
approval process. The bill
also requires any drug that
is habit-forming or
potentially harmful to be
dispensed under the
supervision of a health
practitioner as a
prescription drug and must
carry the statement,
"Caution: Federal law
prohibits dispensing without
prescription |
| 1949 |
Hazelden is founded
in Minnesota
The idea for Hazelden was
born in 1947 when Austin
Ripley, a recovering
alcoholic, set out to create
a treatment center in
Minnesota specifically for
alcoholic priests. After
Lynn Carroll and other key
supporters got involved, the
priest-only concept was
rejected for a broader
patient base. Hazelden was
incorporated on January 10,
1949, as "a sanatorium for
curable alcoholics of the
professional class." The
property on which Hazelden's
Center City, Minnesota,
campus now stands was called
"Hazelden," named for Hazel
Thompson of the Thompson
family that acquired the
property in 1925 |
| 1944 |
Marty Mann founds the
National Committee for
Education on Alcoholism,
(NCA)
Not long after Marty Mann
became the first woman to
stay sober in Alcoholics
Anonymous (AA), she resolved
to let America know that
alcoholism is a disease and
that the alcoholic is a sick
person. She knew it would be
an enormous undertaking that
would need the support of an
established academic
institution so she turned to
Yale University where E.M.
Jellinek - father of the
modern disease concept - had
been working to transform
alcoholism from a moral
problem into a public health
issue. NCA was later changed
to the National Council on
Alcoholism and Drug
Dependence (NCADD). The
Committee was founded around
the following propositions:
1. Alcoholism is a disease;
2. The alcoholic, therefore,
is a sick person; 3. The
alcoholic can be helped; 4.
The alcoholic is worth
helping; 5. The alcoholic is
our No. 4 health problem,
and our public
responsibility |
| 1943 |
Summer School of
Alcohol Studies is founded
at Yale
Yale Center of Alcohol
Studies initiates a
significant research
program, the Summer School
of Alcohol Studies, the Yale
plan Outpatient Clinics, and
the Yale Plan for Business
and Industry. The Center
will move to Rutgers in 1962
|
| 1942 |
Opium Poppy Control
Act
Opium poppies were widely
grown as an ornamental plant
and for seeds in the United
States. The Opium Poppy
Control Act prohibited the
possession or growing of the
opium poppy without a
license. |
| 1938 |
Federal Food, Drug,
and Cosmetic Act
Languishing in Congress for
five years, the bill was
ultimately enhanced and
passed in the wake of a
therapeutic disaster in
1937. A Tennessee drug
company marketed a form of
the new sulfa wonder drug
that would appeal to
pediatric patients, Elixir
Sulfanilamide. However, the
solvent in this untested
product was a highly toxic
chemical analogue of
antifreeze; over 100 people
died, many of whom were
children. The public outcry
not only reshaped the drug
provisions of the new law to
prevent such an event from
happening again, it
propelled the bill itself
through Congress. This act
brought cosmetics and
medical devices under
control, and it required
that drugs be labeled with
adequate directions for safe
use. Moreover, it mandated
pre-market approval of all
new drugs, such that a
manufacturer would have to
prove to FDA that a drug
were safe before it could be
sold. It irrefutably
prohibited false therapeutic
claims for drugs, although a
separate law granted the
Federal Trade Commission
jurisdiction over drug
advertising. The act also
corrected abuses in food
packaging and quality, and
it mandated legally
enforceable food standards.
Tolerances for certain
poisonous substances were
addressed. The law formally
authorized factory
inspections, and it added
injunctions to the
enforcement tools at the
agency's disposal. |
| 1937 |
Marihuana Tax Act
This act was introduced to
U.S. Congress by "Drug Czar"
Harry Anslinger, then
Commissioner of the Federal
Bureau of Narcotics. The act
did not itself criminalize
the possession or usage of
cannabis, but levied a tax
equaling roughly one dollar
on anyone who dealt
commercially in marijuana.
It did, however, include
penalty provisions and a
complex Regulation 1
codifying the elaborate
rules of enforcement
marijuana handlers were
subject to. Violation of
these procedures could
result in a fine of up to
$2000 and five years'
imprisonment. The net effect
was to make it too risky for
anyone to deal in the
substance. The
anti-marijuana law of 1937
was largely the federal
government's response to
political pressure from
enforcement agencies and
other alarmed groups who
feared the use and spread of
marihuana by "Mexicans".
Amphetamine available by
prescription in tablet form
|
| 1935 |
Alcoholics Anonymous
is founded
A.A. had its beginnings in
1935 at Akron, Ohio, as the
outcome of a meeting between
Bill W., a New York
stockbroker, and Dr. Bob S.,
an Akron surgeon. Both had
been hopeless alcoholics.
Prior to that time, Bill and
Dr. Bob had each been in
contact with the Oxford
Group, a mostly nonalcoholic
fellowship that emphasized
universal spiritual values
in daily living. In that
period, the Oxford Groups in
America were headed by the
noted Episcopal clergyman,
Dr. Samuel Shoemaker. Under
this spiritual influence,
and with the help of an
old-time friend, Ebby T.,
Bill had gotten sober and
had then maintained his
recovery by working with
other alcoholics, though
none of these had actually
recovered. Meanwhile, Dr.
Bob’s Oxford Group
membership at Akron had not
helped him enough to achieve
sobriety. When Dr. Bob and
Bill finally met, the effect
on the doctor was immediate.
This time, he found himself
face to face with a fellow
sufferer who had made good.
Bill emphasized that
alcoholism was a malady of
mind, emotions and body.
This all-important fact he
had learned from Dr. William
D. Silkworth of Towns
Hospital in New York, where
Bill had often been a
patient. Though a physician,
Dr. Bob had not known
alcoholism to be a disease.
Responding to Bill’s
convincing ideas, he soon
got sober, never to drink
again. The founding spark of
A.A. had been struck
U.S. Public Health Service
pioneers program for drug
abuse research
The National Institute on
Drug Abuse (NIDA) traces its
beginnings to a small
research unit at a U.S.
Public Health Service
hospital in Lexington,
Kentucky. The unit was
created in 1935 to study and
treat heroin addiction among
Federal prisoners and others
who voluntarily admitted
themselves to the facility.
That research unit, which
conducted pioneering studies
into the nature of the
addictive process,
essentially spawned the
science of drug abuse
research. The unit
eventually became known as
the Addiction Research
Center and became NIDA’s
Intramural Research Program
(IRP) when the Institute was
created in 1974 |
| 1933 |
Prohibition ends by
passage of the 21st
Amendment to the
Constitution
The Eighteenth Amendment to
the United States
Constitution had ushered in
a period of time known as
"Prohibition", during which
the manufacture,
distribution, and sale of
alcoholic beverages was made
illegal. Passage of the
Eighteenth Amendment, in
1919, was the crowning
achievement of the
temperance movement, but it
soon proved highly
unpopular. As more and more
Americans came to the
conclusion that the
Eighteenth Amendment had
been an error, movement grew
for a repeal. The framers of
the 21st Amendment hoped to
provide some measure of
satisfaction to temperance
advocates, by explicitly
making provisions for local
control of alcohol sales.
The amendment allows for
states, and, where legal
under state law,
municipalities with the
power to prohibit alcohol
sales within their
boundaries. The Twenty-first
Amendment was fully ratified
on December 5, 1933. It is
the only Amendment thus far
ratified by state
conventions, specially
selected for the purpose;
whereas all other amendments
have been ratified by state
legislatures. It is also the
only amendment that was
passed for the explicit and
nearly sole purpose of
repealing an earlier
amendment to the
Constitution
The
Supreme Court upheld the
Veteran's Administration
policy which defined
alcoholism as a form of
"willful misconduct"
|
| 1930 |
Harry J. Anslinger is
appointed the first "Drug
Czar" as head of the newly
created Federal Bureau of
Narcotics (FBN)
Harry J. Anslinger is widely
considered to be the first
United States "drug czar".
He held office as the
Assistant Prohibition
Commissioner in the Bureau
of Prohibition, before being
appointed as the first
Commissioner of the Treasury
Department's Federal Bureau
of Narcotics (FBN)
Porter Act establishes the
Bureau of Narcotics
The Act established the
Bureau of Narcotics to be
housed in the Treasury
Department. The agency was
created to take up
enforcement of the Harrison
Act, to streamline the
bureaucracy and to represent
the United States in foreign
conferences |
| 1925 |
Linder V. United
States decriminilizes
doctors prescribing drugs
for addicts
In 1924 Dr. Charles O.
Linder, completing a
lifetime of honorable
practice in Spokane, WA, was
induced by a plant from the
Treasury Dept. to write a
prescription for 4 tablets
of cocaine and morphine.
Several Treasury agents
thereupon descended on his
office on a Saturday
afternoon, stamped through
his waiting room crowded
with patients, and broke in
on him in the midst of a
consultation. He was
indicted in the Berhman
formula, convicted,
sentenced, and lost his
intermediate appeal to the
Circuit Court. But Dr.
Linder persisted. The
Supreme Court's unanimous
decision came on April 13,
1925, in which his
conviction was reversed and
he was completely vindicated
Thriving Opium
blackmarket
In the wake of the first
federal ban on opium, a
thriving black market opens
up in New York's Chinatown.
|
| 1924 |
Heroin Act
Prohibited manufacture,
importation and possession
of heroin illegal - even for
medicinal use |
| 1922 |
Narcotic Drugs Import
and Export Act (Jones-Miller
Act)
By 1920, an illicit drug
economy had emerged in the
United States that profited
principally from cocaine and
heroin distribution. In 1922
the Federal response was the
Jones-Miller Act. This act
provided fines of up to
$5,000 and prison sentences
for up to 10 years for any
individual found guilty of
being party to the unlawful
importation of narcotics.
The Act also set strict
quotas on the quantity of
drugs that could be imported
into the United States. The
measure allowed possession
of narcotics without a
prescription to become
presumptive evidence of
having illegally imported
drugs In fact, the
legislation had little
influence upon the illicit
drug marketplace except to
increase the price of heroin
and cocaine |
| 1919 |
18th Amendment to the
U.S. Constitution
The 18th Amendment to the
U.S. Constitution banned the
manufacture, sale, and
transportation of alcohol.
It was ratified on January
16, 1919 and repealed by the
21st Amendment in 1933. In
the over 200 years of the
U.S. Constitution, the 18th
Amendment remains the only
Amendment to ever have been
repealed. Here is the
complete text of the 18th
Amendment. The following is
the text of the 18th
Amendment:
- Section 1: After one
year from the
ratification of this
article the manufacture,
sale, or transportation
of intoxicating liquors
within, the importation
thereof into, or the
exportation thereof from
the United States and
all territory subject to
the jurisdiction thereof
for beverage purposes is
hereby prohibited.
- Section 2: The
Congress and the several
States shall have
concurrent power to
enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
- Section 3: This
article shall be
inoperative unless it
shall have been ratified
as an amendment to the
Constitution by the
legislatures of the
several States, as
provided in the
Constitution, within
seven years from the
date of the submission
hereof to the States by
the Congress.
National Prohibition
Act (Volstead Act)
The Volstead Act enabled
Federal enforcement of the
Eighteenth Amendment to the
U.S. Constitution, which had
banned the "manufacture,
sale, or transportation of
intoxicating liquors" in the
United States. The Volstead
Act also provided enabling
legislation for the
amendment, treating such
matters as the definition of
"intoxicating liquors",
medicinal use, and criminal
penalties |
| 1915 |
Utah passes the first
state anti-marijuana law
Mormons who had gone to
Mexico in 1910 returned
smoking marijuana. It was
outlawed at a result of the
Utah legislature enacting
all Mormon religion
prohibitions as criminal
laws. |
| 1914 |
Harrison Narcotics
Act
The Harrison Act regulated
and taxed the production,
importation, and
distribution of opiates. The
act was proposed by
Representative Francis
Burton Harrison of New York
and was approved on December
17, 1914. The Act was to
provide for the registration
of, with collectors of
internal revenue, and to
impose a special tax on all
persons who produce, import,
manufacture, compound, deal
in, dispense, sell,
distribute, or give away
opium or coca leaves, their
salts, derivatives, or
preparations, and for other
purposes. The courts
interpreted this to mean
that physicians could
prescribe narcotics to
patients in the course of
normal treatment, but not
for the treatment of
addiction. |
| 1912 |
International Opium
Convention
The International Opium
Convention, signed at The
Hague on January 23, 1912,
was the first international
drug control treaty. The
United States convened a
13-nation conference of the
International Opium
Commission in 1909 in
Shanghai, China in response
to increasing criticism of
the opium trade. The treaty
was signed by Germany, the
United States, China,
France, the United Kingdom,
Italy, Japan, The
Netherlands, Persia,
Portugal, Russia, and Siam.
The Convention provided that
"The contracting Powers
shall use their best
endeavours to control, or to
cause to be controlled, 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." |
| 1910 |
Cocaine Manufactures
Syndicate founded
Founded in 1910, the Cocaine
Manufacturers Syndicate
included pharmaceutical
giants Merck, Sandoz and
Hoffman-LaRoche. |
| 1909 |
first federal drug
prohibitio
The first federal drug
prohibition passes in the
U.S. outlawing the
imporation of opium. It was
passed in preparation for
the Shanghai Conference, at
which the US presses for
legislation aimed at
suppressing the sale of
opium to China |
| 1907 |
Smith Act
New York bans the
non-medicinal use of cocaine
|
| 1906 |
Pure Food and Drug
Act
The Pure Food and Drug Act
provided for federal
inspection of meat products,
and forbade the manufacture,
sale, or transportation of
adulterated food products or
poisonous patent medicines.
The Act arose due to public
education and exposées from
authors such as Upton
Sinclair and Samuel Hopkins
Adams, and President
Theodore Roosevelt. Though
the Pure Food and Drug Act
was initially concerned with
making sure products were
labeled correctly (habit
forming cocaine-based drugs
were not illegal so long as
they were labeled
correctly), the labeling
requirement gave way to
efforts to outlaw certain
products that were not safe,
followed by efforts to
outlaw products which were
safe but not efficacious.
Ironically, Coca-Cola
Company's earlier
advertising behind the Act
was rewarded by an attempt
to outlaw Coca-Cola in 1909
because of its excessive
caffeine content as well as
its cocaine content, albeit
minuscule. The 1906 Act
paved the way for the
eventual creation of the
Food and Drug Administration
(FDA)
Anti-alcohol
Teaching in Public Schools
Laws are enacted to make
anti-alcohol teaching
compulsory in public schools
in New York State. The
following year similar laws
are passed in Pennsylvania,
with other states soon
following suit. |
| 1905 |
Congress bans Opium
|
| 1903 |
Cocaine removed from
Coca-Cola
As the American majority
became more and more aware
of the dangers of cocaine,
and the severity of this
problem became more and more
apparent, concern mounted to
an eventual public outcry to
ban the social use of
cocaine. This public
pressure forced John
Pemberton to remove cocaine
from Coca Cola in 1903
Heroin addiction rises to
alarming rates |
| 1898 |
The Bayer company
introduces heroin as a
substitute for morphine
|
| 1895 |
Heroin produced by
Bayer
Heinrich Dreser working for
The Bayer Company of
Elberfeld, Germany, finds
that diluting morphine with
acetyls produces a drug
without the common morphine
side effects.Bayer begins
production of
diacetylmorphine and coins
the name "heroin." |
| 1886 |
Cocaine included in
Coca-Cola
John Pemberton included
cocaine as the main
ingredient in his new soft
drink, Coca-Cola. It was
cocaine's euphoric and
energizing effects on the
consumer that was mostly
responsible for skyrocketing
Coca-Cola into its place as
the most popular soft drink
in history. |
| 1884 |
Sigmund Freud treats
his depression with cocaine
Sigmund Freud treats his
depression with cocaine, and
reports feeling
"exhilaration and lasting
euphoria, which is in no way
differs from the normal
euphoria of the healthy
person. . . You perceive an
increase in self-control and
possess more vitality and
capacity for work. . . . In
other words, you are simply
more normal, and it is soon
hard to believe that you are
under the influence of a
drug". Freud later died of
effects of tobacco-induced
cancer. He was able to break
his addiction to cocaine,
but could not break his
addiction to cigar smoking
even though most of the
lower part of his face had
been removed by cancer
surgery. |
| 1882 |
"Temperance
education" made a part of a
required course in public
schools
The law in the United
States, and the world,
making "temperance
education" a part of the
required course in public
schools is enacted. In 1886,
Congress makes such
education mandatory in the
District of Columbia, and in
territorial, military, and
naval schools. By 1900, all
the states have similar
laws.
Personal
Liberty League of the United
States is founded
The Personal Liberty League
of the United States is
founded to oppose the
increasing momentum of
movements for compulsory
abstinence from alcohol |
| 1874 |
Heroin synthesized
English researcher, C.R.
Wright first synthesizes
heroin, or diacetylmorphine,
by boiling morphine over a
stove.
The Woman's
Christian Temperance Union
is founded
The Woman's Christian
Temperance Union is founded
in Cleveland. In 1883,
Frances Willard a leader of
the W.C.T.U. forms the
World's Woman's Christian
Temperance Union |
| 1870s |
The first laws
against opium smoking were
passed in San Francisco and
Virginia City
Opium itself was not
outlawed and remained
available in any number of
over-the-counter products.
Only the smoking of opium
was outlawed, because that
was a peculiarly Chinese
habit and the laws were
specifically directed at the
Chinese. The white people in
the communities feared that
Chinese men were luring
white women to have sex in
opium dens.
Rise of
Patent Medicine Industry
The patent medicine industry
started its rise. Because
there were no restrictions
on advertising, labeling, or
contents of any products the
patent medicine industry
made up all sorts of
concoctions including the
opiates, cocaine, and other
drugs, and sold them with
the most extravagant
advertising claims. This led
to a rise in addiction.
Addiction poorly
understood
Morphine and heroin were
recommended as remedies for
alcohol addiction
French Wine of Coca:
Invigorating Tonic
French Wine of Coca:
Invigorating Tonic became a
popular soft drink because
it contained cocaine. It
went on to become Coca-Cola
and, together with other
similar drinks like
Pepsi-Cola, made the soda
fountain a common part of
the neighborhood pharmacy.
Amphetamine first
synthesized
First synthesized in 1887
Germany, amphetamine was for
a long time, a drug in
search of a disease. Nothing
was done with the drug, from
its discovery (synthesis)
until the late 1920's, when
it was seriously
investigated as a cure or
treatement against nearly
everything from depression
to decongestion |
| 1869 |
Prohibitionist Party
is formed
Gerrit Smith, twice
Abolitionist candidate for
President, an associate of
John Brown, and a crusading
prohibitionist, declares:
"Our involuntary slaves are
set free, but our millions
of voluntary slaves still
clang their chains. The lot
of the literal slave, of him
whom others have enslaved,
is indeed a hard one;
nevertheless, it is a
paradise compared with the
lot of him who has enslaved
himself to alcohol." |
| 1860s |
Cocaine Syntesized
The active ingredient (an
alkaloid) from the coca
plant (erythroxylum) was
first isolated by a chemist
named Albert Niemann. In
1860 he gave the compound
the name cocaine. The drug
induces a sense of
exhilaration in the user
primarily by blocking the
reuptake of the
neurotransmitter dopamine in
the midbrain.
Opiates
see widespread use as a pain
killer for injured soldiers
during the Civil War
Opiates were the first real
miracle drugs because they
allowed the patient to be
anesthetized while the
doctor performed surgery.
Before the advent of
opiates, the most common
surgery was a simple
amputation. That is, the
doctor got several big
strong people to hold the
patient down and then
literally sawed off an arm
or a leg while the patient
screamed in pain. For this
reason, a good doctor was a
fast doctor. Battlefield
hospitals during the Civil
War commonly had large piles
of severed arms and legs.
The use of opiates as
anesthesia gave doctors time
to work on the patient and
actually made modern surgery
possible. |
| 1853 |
The hypodermic needle
is invented |
| 1847 |
Thme American Medical
Association (AMA) founded
On May 7, 1847, the
delegates to the national
medical convention approved
a resolution to establish
the AMA and had elected Dr.
Nathaniel Chapman as its
first president. At the
founding meeting the
delegates adopted the first
code of medical ethics, and
adopted the first national
standards for preliminary
medical education and for
the degree of MD. Those
attending the founding
meeting of the AMA launched
what has become the largest
medical association in
America whose work for over
a century and a half has
remained focused on the
founding principles. The AMA
represents the best of
American medicine and today
continues to serve as an
advocate for the profession,
physician and patient. |
| 1827 |
E. Merck & Company of
Darmstadt, Germany, begins
commercial manufacturing of
morphine |
| 1803 |
Active ingredient of
Opium discovered
Friedrich Sertuerner of
Paderborn, Germany discovers
the active ingredient of
opium by dissolving it in
acid then neutralizing it
with ammonia. The result:
alkaloids - principium
somniferum or morphine. This
may have been the first
plant alkaloid ever isolated
and set off a firestorm of
research into plant
alkaloids. Within half a
century, dozens of
alkaloids, such as atropine,
caffeine, cocaine, and
quinine, had been isolated
from other plants and were
being used in precisely
measured dosages for the
first time. Physicians
believe that opium had
finally been perfected and
tamed. Morphine is lauded as
"God's own medicine" for its
reliability, long-lasting
effects and safety |
| | |
