After finishing this chapter, students should be able to understand:
In the early 1900s, two federal laws were passed on which our modern drug regulations are based.
The 1906 Pure Food and Drugs Act, requiring accurate labeling, was amended in 1938 to require safety testing and in 1962 to require testing for effectiveness.
A company wishing to market a new drug must first test it on animals, then file an IND. After a three-phase sequence of human testing, the company can file the NDA.
The 1914 Harrison Act regulated the sale of opiates and cocaine.
The Harrison Act was a tax law, but after 1919 it was enforced as a prohibition against providing narcotics to addicts.
As narcotics became more scarce and their price rose on the illicit market, the illicit market grew. Harsher penalties and increased enforcement efforts, which were the primary strategies of Commissioner of Narcotics Harry Anslinger, failed to reverse the trend.
Marijuana was added to the list of narcotics in 1937, and in 1965 amphetamines, barbiturates, and hallucinogens were also brought under federal control.
The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 first provided for direct federal regulation of drugs, not through the pretense of taxing their sale.
Controlled substances are placed on one of five schedules, depending on medical use and dependence potential.
Amendments in 1988 were aimed at increasing pressure on users, as well as on criminal organizations and money laundering.
Federal support for urine screening began in the military and has since spread to other federal agencies, nonfederal transportation workers, and many private employers.
Current federal enforcement efforts involve thousands of federal employees and include activities in other countries, along our borders, and within the United States.
Most states have adopted some version of the DEA's recommended Uniform Controlled Substances Act. Also, the federal government has mandated uniform minimum drinking age of twenty-one years in all states.
Federal, state, and local enforcement limits the supply of drugs and keeps their prices high, but the high prices attract more smugglers and dealers. It will never be possible to completely eliminate illicit drugs.
