History of Drug Addiction in the United States

The history of drug addiction in the United States is both fascinating and surprising. While narcotics were introduced into the United States well before the birth of the country, by traders westward bound from Europe and Asia, there was no centralized legislation of drugs until the early 20th century, well after many thousands of Americans had already developed drug dependency problems.

How drug addiction gained a foothold on the American public

Narcotics at that time were derived from the poppy plant, papaver somniferum, which originated in the Middle East and Asia. Their use was primarily to induce sleep and to relieve pain, the word "narcotics" coming from the Greek word "narkotikos", referring to something having a numbing effect. Narcotics were recommended by physicians and healers for pain relief, and people in those days frequently self-medicated by smoking opium, drinking laudanum or ingesting codeine, all of which were opiates derived from the poppy seed plant.

The history of drug addiction began with the use of painkilling narcotics, which escalated during and after the U.S. Civil War [1861-1865] Severe casualties were rampant on both sides, and pain-relieving medications were in heavy demand.[The linotype at left shows a Civil War amputee who probably had the surgery without benefit of anesthesia.] With the invention of the hypodermic needle at that same time, soldiers were encouraged to obtain and inject their own narcotics. The Civil War ushered in a new era of reliance on narcotics for pain relief and ultimately, escape from the emotional sufferings that accompanied the war. Following the war, medicines, tonics and cure-alls of all kinds began to be patented and sold by traveling salesmen, pharmacists and doctors, still without benefit of any centralized regulation. The drug trade, free of restrictions, began to thrive in the United States, with no differentiation between legal and illegal drugs.

Common opiates in the late 19th century were:

Opium: a derivative of the poppy plant which was smoked

Laudanum: A tincture of opium used in droplet form

Codeine: An analgesic in tablet form

Morphine: A crystalline substance which was liquefied and then injected [heroin, a derivative of morphine, came later.]

With all types of narcotics being made and sold in an unrestricted market, drug addiction and dependency was on the rise by the end of the 19th century. Around 1900 public health officials estimated that one person in every 400 suffered from some form of drug addiction, which was concentrated in urban areas where the drugs could be easily obtained. That same year there were some 10,000 drug addicts reportedly in New York State alone, but none in the more rural state of Vermont.

The first legislation in the history of drug addiction is enacted in 1909

With drug addiction on the rise in the U.S., in 1909 Congress enacted legislation seeking to control the use of narcotics. This law prohibited the importation of opium and its derivatives except for medicinal care under the supervision of a doctor. In spite of its passage, there was no real agency to enforce this law. The sale of narcotics, though now illegal, continued without limitation until the Harrison Narcotic Act was passed in December 1914. This law was amended in 1930 to provide for the establishment of the Bureau of Narcotics whose purpose was to enforce the Harrison Act and to arrest its violators.

The Harrison Narcotic Act restricted the importation, manufacture, sale and dispensing of opiates, and required that formal records of sales of narcotics products be kept. The possession of narcotics by anyone other than a medical professional was now a criminal offense. However, in the entire history of drug addiction, the addiction itself was considered a medical problem, not a crime, leaving its solution in the hands of medical professionals and not law enforcement.

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