Chapter Three:
Illegal Drugs
Vincent Del Castillo
Copyright © 2012 Vincent Del Castillo
Illegal Drugs
Natural Sources:

Opiates (heroin, morphine, opium), cocaine
marijuana, etc.
Synthesized Substances:

Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD), PCP
(Angel Dust), methamphetamine, etc.
Prescription only Drugs.
Copyright © 2012 Vincent Del Castillo
Background
Drugs used freely in most of America until
the early 1900s.
Doctors and pharmacists distributed
medicines, elixirs and tonics with cocaine
and heroin.
Opiates were popular, mostly among
women for menopausal and other
conditions.
Marijuana used during prohibition as an
alternative to alcohol.
Copyright © 2012 Vincent Del Castillo
National Drug Laws
Harrison Act of 1914.
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Controlled import, manufacture and sale.
Hague Treaty of 1912: international opium
problems.
Did not appear to prohibit drug use but
doctors could not proscribe to addicted
patients.
Marijuana Tax Act of 1937.

Same as Harrison Act. Did not prohibit
marijuana but impossible to comply with.
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Public Reaction
Doctors were arrested for proscribing
drugs to addicted patients.
Illegal drug dealers began to emerge.
Law enforcement was against the laws.



Not a police problem.
Creates crime.
Addicts should be treated not arrested.
Medical profession opposition:

Unwise and unenforceable.
Copyright © 2012 Vincent Del Castillo
Additional Drug Legislation
Boggs Act (1951) and Narcotics Control
Act (1956) increased sentences and
imposed death penalty for sale to minors.
Drug Abuse and Control Amendments of
1965 included amphetamines, LSD and
barbiturates into existing drug laws.
1960s and 1970s new federal agencies
were created including the Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Copyright © 2012 Vincent Del Castillo
War on Drugs
Soon after Harrison Act; illegal drug use
was almost equal to legitimate use
especially in cities like NY and San
Francisco.
Criminal organizations were smuggling
drugs, mainly from Mexico and Canada.
Illegal Drug use began to spread across
the country, particularly in depressed
urban areas.
Copyright © 2012 Vincent Del Castillo
War on Drugs (continued)
Vietnam War era illegal drug use became
mainstream.


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Anti-Vietnam war baby boomers.
Hippy communes, college students.
Mostly marijuana and LSD.
1971 – President Nixon, “Drug abuse …
public enemy number one.”
Increased funding to fight drugs.
Copyright © 2012 Vincent Del Castillo
War on Drugs (continued)
Rockefeller Drug laws; harshest in the
nation.

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Mandatory minimum sentences.
Led to similar laws across the country.
Antidrug Act (1986) mandatory minimum
sentences for specific amounts of drugs.
Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 2000.

Property used for drugs could be seized.
Copyright © 2012 Vincent Del Castillo
Drug Arrests
Drug
arrests
are
steadily
increasing:
 1970 – over 322 thousand arrests.




1980 – over 470 thousand arrests.
1990 – over one million arrests.
2000 – over 1.3 million arrests.
2007 – over 1.6 million arrests.
Copyright © 2012 Vincent Del Castillo
The full set of PowerPoint
slides is available upon
adoption.
Email bhall@cap-press.com
for more information.
Copyright © 2012 Vincent Del Castillo