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July 23, 2011
The Drug War's Origins
The American government's concern over "addiction" began early in the 20th century with the (TR) Roosevelt Administration's participation in two international conferences on the opium trade. Our acquisition of the Philippines, following the Spanish-American war played a key role because Episcopal Bishop Charles Henry Brent, a respected missionary, came to believe that opium from China had become both a serious problem in the islands and an American responsibility through conquest. He was able to make that case effectively through his friendship with newly appointed US Administrator for the Philippines (and future President) William Howard Taft,aboard ship as they traveled to the islands after the war.Closer to home, Heroin, a morphine derivative patented by Bayer in 1898 amidst claims it was non-addictive, proved to be just the opposite, becoming a favorite of addicts and raising the public's fear of “addiction” to new heights. It was in that context that Hamilton Wright MD, one of the more energetic members of the Roosevelt Administration began lobbying Francis Burton Harrison, a Brooklyn Congressman with close ties to the Philippines and his own aversion to addiction. Wright's ultimate success was the Harrison Narcotic Act of 1914, which Woodrow Wilson signed into law in December. Harrison eventually became the vehicle that established a policy of de facto drug prohibition until it was replaced by the even more devious and repressive Controlled Substances Act in 1970.
Whether those who had used deceptive transfer taxes as cover for Harrison and the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 fully intended a policy that would mature into harsh, criminal prohibition can't be determined with certainty, but that's exactly what happened after Attorney General John Mitchell replaced both with the Controlled Substances Act he drafted almost single-handedly in 1969. His party then passed the CSA with little debate (and even less medical input) in 1970. Given the adverse changes in American education, incarceration, and healthcare that have occurred since, one would have to admit that the CSA's unintended consequences have been severe.
Doctor Tom
Posted by tjeffo at July 23, 2011 03:12 AM