Illegal Heroin and United States Law
There is no such thing as legal heroin in the United States. Classified as a Schedule I narcotic, heroin is illegal in any amount and any form. Whether it’s white heroin, black tar heroin or brown powdered heroin, if you have it in your possession, then it is a violation of heroin laws, and you will be subject to arrest and prosecution. Here’s how those laws against heroin developed:
City and State Ordinances Making Heroin Illegal
Individual cities and states made the use of heroin and other opiates illegal as they saw fit for their community before 1890. In general, the focus of these laws was opium as opium dens were quite popular at the time. Medications based on these drugs were not considered illegal, however, and it would be some time before the heroin trade would be taxed or in any way controlled legally.
Federal Law and Illegal Heroin
The first Congressional Act regarding heroin and other opiates was enacted in 1890. The focus at first was not on consumption or use but that federal taxes be levied on each sale of morphine and opium.
1906: Pure Food and Drug Act
Regulation of the production, distribution and sale of food and drugs as well as labeling laws for those that have been altered in any way was the focus of this federal decision. For those who chose to break prior trafficking laws, fines and prison time would be the consequence for the first time.
1909: Smoking Opium Exclusion Act
The first law to ban the non-medical use of any substance, opium-based medications was not regulated but smoking marijuana was.
1914: The Harrison Act
Everyone involved in the importation, exportation, manufacture or distribution of opium and a few other drugs was required to register with the United States government and pay taxes on their earnings.
1919: Webb et al., v. United States
The Supreme Court banned the prescription of supplies to use narcotics.
1924: Heroin Act
The heretofore unregulated manufacture, distribution and possession of heroin for medicinal use was deemed illegal.
1922: Narcotic Drug Import and Export Act
Tighter restrictions for the importing and exporting of heroin as well as heroin sales, possession of the drug and its use.
Heroin, a highly addictive opiate drug, is growing quickly in popularity in the United States. The fastest acting of the opiate drugs, heroin has the propensity to change the chemical structure of your brain in just one use. It is sold as either a white powder, a light brown powder, or another form of heroin known as “black tar” heroin. More common along the eastern coast of the United States, white heroin is usually cut with starch or sugar and, in some cases, strychnine.
The Dangers of White Heroin Powder
Derived from morphine, a natural substance derived from the seedpods of Asian poppy plants, white heroin has the same derivation as black or brown heroin, which means it is just as dangerous. It is often assumed that the whiter the heroin, the more pure it is and is therefore safer than other types of heroin as well. This isn’t true. White heroin is cut with other substances just as often as other types of heroin and can be just as dangerous. It is just as easy to overdose on white heroin as it is on black tar heroin or brown heroin and the long-term and short-term health problems associated with the drug are just as real no matter what color the powder.
1927: Bureau of Prohibition created
1932: Uniform State Narcotic Act
Focused on unifying the states so that everyone had the same minimum standards and attitudes toward heroin and other opiate use and trade laws enacted in the federal Narcotic Drug Import and Export Act.
1951: Boggs Act
Minimum prison sentences and maximum criminal penalties enacted for previous laws concerning drugs and their abuse.
1956: Narcotics Control Act
Increased Boggs Act penalties and mandatory prison sentence minimums.
1970: Controlled Substance Act
Consolidated many previous laws regulating the production and distribution of drugs, including heroin. The scheduling system was created (heroin is a Schedule I drug, meaning it has no medicinal use).
1973: Drug Enforcement Agency created
1973: Methadone Control Act
Established federally regulated and funded clinics and for heroin addiction treatment using methadone.
Since then, most laws have been focused on changing the minimum and maximum sentences for possession, distribution and sale of different drugs in different amounts. Notably, the adoption of Suboxone as a heroin addiction treatment method was approved by the FDA and continues to be regulated by the federal government.
While the influx of illicit drugs into the US continues to be a problem, these laws have at least made a dent on the heroin trade, resulting in many seizures, convictions and penalties against traffickers.
###
Drug Policy Alliance