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Drug War Facts
Compiled and Maintained byCommon Sense for Drug Policy© Copyright 2007ISBN 978-0-615-16429-8Printed in Canada November 2007
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Drug Prohibition Timeline
1875: First anti-drug law in US enacted: San Francisco Opium Den Ordinance passed Nov. 15.1906: Congress passes Pure Food and Drug Act.1914: Harrison Narcotics Act enacted; federal control of narcotics established;nonmedical use of heroin and cocaine made illegal.1919: Congress passes Eighteenth Amendment to US Constitution, establishingnationalalcoholprohibition.Ninemonthslater,onOct.28,Congresspassesthe Volstead Act providing for the law’s enforcement.1933: Congress repeals national alcohol prohibition.1937: Marihuana (sic) Tax Act enacted. Objections were raised during hearingsfrom the American Medical Association as well as from hemp producers.1970: Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act passed into law,containing Controlled Substances Act (which lists marijuana in Schedule 1, prohibiting any legitimate medical uses).1970:The National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)is founded.1971: President Richard M. Nixon declares “war on drugs” at press conference onJune 17; announces creation of Special Action Office for Drug AbusePrevention to be headed by Dr. Jerome Jaffe.1978: Federal forfeiture introduced via amendment to Comprehensive DrugAbuse Prevention and Control Act.1984: Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 enacted: broadened criminal andcivil asset forfeiture laws, increased federal penalties for drug offenses.1986: Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 enacted; creates mandatory minimumsentences, establishes disparity in sentences involving equivalent weightsof crack vs. powder cocaine.1988: Anti-Drug Abuse AmendmentAct of 1988 enacted, increasing penalties for drug offenses and creating new federal offenses.1988: First needle exchange in United States established in Tacoma, WA.1989: US Office of National Drug Control Policyestablished. WilliamS. Bennett,former Education Secretary, is named first “Drug Czar.”1995: US Sentencing Commission recommends revising mandatory minimumsentencingguidelinestoresolvecrack/powdercocainesentencingdisparity.Congress overrides their recommendation.1996: CaliforniapassesProposition 215, legalizingsaleand possession of medicalmarijuana by patients in need. Over the following decade, 10 more stateslegalize possession and cultivation of medical marijuana.2000: California voters pass Proposition 36, allowing people convicted of first or second time, no-violent drug possession to receive drug treatment insteadof prison.2004: Oakland, CA voters approve Measure Z, makingadult socialmarijuanause,cultivation, and sales the lowest law enforcement priority in the city.
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