Anti Opium Act Research Paper

Opium came from opium poppy seeds, which were grown and sold under British ruling in India. The British East India Company developed a monopoly which took place in effectively growing opium and making profits and/or trading it with the Chinese in exchange for their premium good such as silk, porcelain, and tea. According to Memorials on the Legalization and Elimination of Opium by Xu Naiji and Yuan Yulin, they explained how the rise of opium prompted many debts and death around China. Opium became an addiction for many, from the poor to officials in government positions. Cutting off all access of trading opium would’ve started issues in the trading network, not just with Britain but with the Western countries as well. Instead of passing laws to completely ban opium, they reverted to only permitting the barbarian merchants to import opium to pay duty as a medication. This made it unacceptable for money to be involved with the product. According to Xu Naiji, smokers of opium were lazy, with no purpose in life and if they were caught smoking it, the only punishment was getting the opium confiscated. However, if any officer, scholar, or soldier were found smoking opium, the would be immediately dismissed from public employ. Yuan Yulin, a minister, believes that the expansion of opium is the government’s fault, being that they cannot decipher right from wrong; he thought it was unfair that prohibition of smoking opium only applied to the officers of the government, scholars, and military but not the common people. The British capitalized on the effects of opium, because many of China’s population were going to put forth their money, goods, etc. for

For most of our history, drug use has been legal for recreational, religious, and medicinal purposes. During the 19th century, opium, morphine, and cocaine could be purchased over-the-counter to treat medical conditions such as menstrual cramps, teething pain, coughs, depression, and even addiction (Hellerman). On December 17, 1914, the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act was introduced which heavily restricted the use of narcotics, and was based on racial fears and discrimination. The drafters of the bill stated that “negroes under the influence of drugs were murdering whites, degenerate Mexicans were smoking marijuana, and “chinamen” were seducing white women with drugs” (Huggins). Regardless of the restrictions placed on narcotics, the 20th century followed the

Nixon’s drug war, however, was a mere skirmish in comparison to the colossal efforts launched by the Ronald Reagan administration in the 1980s. Formally announced by President Ronald Reagan in 1982, the War on Drugs was marked by deep public concern, bordering on hysteria,, towards the nation’s drug problem. Under the leadership of President Reagan, the nation focused unprecedented energy and resources towards eliminating illicit drug use and trafficking.” (pp.

On June 17th 1971, President Richard Nixon stood in front of congress and announced his widely criticized War on Drugs. The President claimed that drugs were the “Public Enemy Number One” among Americans. Fast-forward to 1986, Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. This act placed mandatory minimum sentences on minor drug infractions. The war on drugs not only incarcerated a very high number of Blacks, but also tore families apart in an effort to clean up neighborhoods which still affect many African American families almost a half-century later.

     In May of 1973, New York’s Governor, Nelson Rockefeller, made a set of strict anti-drug laws for the state legislature. The purpose of these laws was to stop the drug abuse epidemic that was occurring in New York during the early 1970’s. It was the most severe law in the nation; the drug laws were to punish those who possessed and sold heavy amounts of narcotics like cocaine and heroine and to hold them in custody for the amount they possessed or sold. For example, if the person was caught with the possession of two or four ounces of drugs on them the minimum time in a federal prison would be 15 years to life, no matter what age (if the offender was of 15 years of age or older). Many

Moreover, another dangerous substance that is consumer is opium. Opium is an addictive drug that is taken from a poppy plant. At first, this drug is used as a narcotic in medicine as an anesthetic as the dangers associated with it are outweighed from the medicinal properties. The prohibition of opium originated from foreign disputes. Professor David F. Musto wrote that “Americans had quickly associated smoking opium with Chinese immigrants who arrive after the Civil War to work on railroad construction. This association was of the earliest examples of a powerful theme in American perception of

The Harrison Narcotic Act of 1914 was the first of many laws due to the laissez-faire attitude toward drug use in the United States. Brecher 1972 states (as cited in Powell & Redford, 2016) society’s view on drugs was not problematic until the end of the nineteenth century. After the Civil War, a widespread epidemic of drugs swept across the nation, which fuels the drug wars of today (Powell & Brecher, 2016).

government target people with laws because “In 1914, Congress passed the Harrison Tax Act, which not only outlawed opium, but also targeted cocaine. “The government also began an aggressively racist propaganda attack against cocaine-using black Americans and opium-using 'Chinamen,'" according to the Drug Policy Alliance.” There are of targeted laws where “racism also played a role in the vilifying of marijuana in the early 1900s. It has also been suggested that “marijuana” is a racist term in the first place—created to replace cannabis to make it sound more Mexican. By 1937, marijuana was made illegal in 46 of 48 states to combat the “Mexican menace,” as some called it.” While in a private interview President Nixon reveal how he felt about drugs and those who used them. “You see, homosexuality, dope, uh, immorality in general: These are the enemies of strong societies,” Nixon was recorded saying in a private conversation. “That's why the communists and the left-wingers are pushing it. They're trying to destroy us." “You know, it's a funny thing, every one of the bastards that are out for legalizing marijuana is Jewish. What the Christ is the matter with the Jews, Bob?" Nixon also said to his top aide, H.R. Haldeman. "What is the matter with them? I suppose it's because most of them are psychiatrists." Stated in the article “The Real Reason We Started The War on Drugs” the article also

Laws were established, and plans were occurred in order to eliminate American citizens from obtaining and using drugs, additionally to stop other countries from manufacturing, transporting these drugs across borders into the United States and selling/distributing them. After countless failed attempts, it was determined by Nixon that the supply for drugs existed due to the large demand and the suppliers would find anyway to succeed. Unfortunately Nixon did not act according to this understanding. Following this, Nixon launched numerous attempts to go into Mexico and eliminate the supply side of the drug war. He quickly learned that eliminating one route used by drug traffickers only resulted in them opening another route to continue their

Xu’s memorandum advocates for the government allowing opium to be brought into China by foreign traders as a taxable good as the best way to combat the opium problem. Xu views strict laws against opium as ineffectual for tackling the drug problem in China, noting in the first paragraph that, “the more severe the interdicts against [opium] are made, the more widely do the evils arising therefrom spread” (Xu page 1). While he acknowledges the addictive and destructive effects of opium on those who use it, Xu believes that the stricter the laws proscribing the dissemination and use of opium, the more widely used the drug becomes. Xu argues that the prohibitions against the opium trade led to increased smuggling by foreign traders and increased use of the drug across China. Conversely, when the state’s policy towards opium was one of leniency, in which opium was allowed into China and taxed as a medicine, the issues involving opium were

Essentially, the British purchased cotton from India, made textiles and sold it back to India, permitting the British to purchase an abundant amount of opium. This allowed them to smuggle the narcotic into China’s isolated land. Through this new method of trading, opium was steadily flowing into China and into its people, not only as a medicine, but as a recreational drug. Since this particular drug became well-known within China, a sudden increase in demand of this narcotic created a new development in the way to administer this drug: new smoking technique, which eventually made opium not only a medicine or a lousy recreational drug, but a highly-used and effective drug that affected nearly every citizen in China. According to Coburn, since the supply and usage of the opium increased exponentially, opium became a part of the daily lives of the Chinese where “much of the lower-class work force with one-third of

Opium always existed for centuries and it has been used in its raw form both medicinal and for pleasure. The origin of opium is in the Middle Eastern, when someone discovered its yearlong life, papaya somniferum produced a substance that, when eaten, eased pain and suffering (Hart, 297). The effects of opium has a huge reaction that its an epidemic, for causing many people to become addicted. Concerning that regulations on the production and administration of opium is necessary, in order to stop harmfully effecting people.

During the 18th century, the British began trading opium to the Chinese. They had finally found a commodity the Chinese were willing to buy. Opium was an illicit drug with addictive properties. As demand on opium increased, the British traders made huge profits and the trade imbalance was reversed. There was now a steady flow of silver leaving China. In 1796, the Ch’ing government banned the importation of opium. This did not stop the British, who continued the trade illegally. As well, extensive corruption amongst Chinese officials allowed the opium trade to flourish.

When men of letters and officials smoked, opium was cultured and a status symbol, but when the lower classes began to lie down, opium became degrading and ultimately criminal. The story of opium is a perfect example of the political redefinition of consumption” (p.38). Newman (1995) also distinguishes the variation between these two classes, and shows how it affected their lives: “There remains, however, the impact of opium consumption on the economy of individual families. The evidence suggests that smokers who were not addicted could limit their consumption to what they could afford, while some of those who were addicted were wealthy enough to pay for their habit. There must, nevertheless, have been some smokers of modest means who ruined their families or fell into crime in order to satisfy their craving”

The U.S. government eventually began establishing statutes against individuals possessing and using the drug. During a 1914 Congressional hearing, Congress approved the Harrison Act, which was a federal tax statute aimed at managing cocaine and attending to the dramatic increased addiction to the drug (Davis, 2011). Initially, southern legislators objected government regulation on cocaine due to its high demand and their suspicions over the power of the federal government (Davis, 2011). Southern legislators ultimately manipulated federal legislators through racist illusions to manage cocaine restrictions against Blacks only, although White individuals were the dominant proportion of addicts (Davis, 2011). Furthermore, advocates of the Harrison Act stated that “southern employers gave cocaine to black workers . . . and it caused the workers to be violent” (Davis, 2011, p. 380). Events like this guided the social processes of drugs and drug panics as society began developing racial stereotypes on cocaine because they identified Black individuals to be cocaine users and abusers (Faupel, Horowitz & Weaver, 2010). The drug panic of the 1980s led to the mass and disproportionate incarceration of Blacks and minorities.