ABSTRACT
Chapter 2 looks at the first opiate crisis. The chapter begins by looking at the burgeoning use of opium in the United States in the nineteenth century. Opium could be found in Chinese opium dens in American cities and was used to reduce pain during the Civil War. The Civil War led to opium addiction among veterans, particularly to morphine. After the war, with little regulation, opium was used in patent medicines in the twentieth century. Immigration restrictions on Chinese people were related to American racist views and also drug prohibition, which began in 1914. Heroin was introduced into the United States in 1898, a much stronger opioid than morphine. Opioid addiction predominated among Chinese emigres and white women. A drug prohibition movement began in the 1870s. Anti-Chinese legislation cropped up at the state/local and federal levels. Federal legislation included the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act and the 1914 Harrison Act. It was this last piece of legislation that fully realized drug prohibition, including of opium. Importantly, the Harrison Act and its implementation rejected the idea of addiction of disease that should be treated medically. All narcotic drugs were considered illegal, forcing users to look for illegal outlets to obtain the drugs. Addiction and trafficking would be treated by the criminal justice system.
