RACIAL, ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL FACTORS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF AMERICA'S FIRST DRUG LAWS

• NCJ Number: 26389
• Journal: ISSUES IN CRIMINOLOGY Volume: 10 Issue: 1 Dated: (SPRING 1975) Pages: 49-72
• Author(s): G Y MARK
• Date Published: 1975
• Length: 24 pages
• Corporate Author: University of California, Berkeley
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Historical Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THIS ARTICLE EXAMINES THE EARLY EFFORTS OF AMERICANS IN THE CHINA OPIUM TRADE AND DISCUSSES HOW, IN THE AUTHOR'S OPINION, INTERANTIONAL AND NATIONAL POLICIES WERE MANIPULATED FOR THE BENEFIT OF A SELECT ECONOMIC GROUP.

Abstract

THE UNITED STATES INVOLVEMENT IN THE OPIUM TRADE IS OUTLINED FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE 1800'S TO THE 1880'S. THE AUTHOR TRACES THE IMPACT OF THIS TRADE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS BY DESCRIBING THE U.S. INTERNATIONAL OPIUM TREATIES. ALSO DISCUSSED ARE THE ECONOMICS OF OPIUM TRADE IN THE UNITED STATES, THE RISE RISE OF THE ANTI-CHINESE MOVEMENT IN AMERICA. THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANTI-OPIUM LAWS TO THE HARASSMENT OF CHINESE-AMERICANS AND THE ENACTMENT OF ANTI-CHINESE LEGISLATION IS EXAMINED. THE AUTHOR CONCLUDES THAT OFFICIAL POLICY ON DRUG ADDICTION HAS OFTEN BEEN STRUCTURED BY ECONOMIC AND DISCRIMINATORY CONSIDERATIONS RATHER THAN MORAL CONSIDERATIONS.