History of Addiction - The Zero Tolerance Era

ZERO TOLERANCE The 1980s LSD COCAINE AMPHETAMINES OPIUM SYNTHETIC DRUGS BARBITURATES COHOL TOBACCO A second wave of lawsuits against tobacco companies is launched, In the most groundbreaking case, Cipollone v. Liggett, plaintiffs argued that the cigarette companies knew their products caused cancer but didn't tell consumers. 1980 Paul McCartney spends 10 days in a Japanese jail for possession of cannabis. 1981 Congress amends the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, which allows the military to enter the drug war. Military planes and surveillance equipment began to be used to interdict suspected drug flow. 1982 A surgeon general's report shows definitive evidence of the risks of secondhand smoke. Many public spaces and work places ban smoking, and Congress bans smoking on all domestic flights less than two hours long. 1985 Lung cancer surpasses breast cancer as the leading cause of death for women. Comedian John Belushi dies of a drug overdose after binging on a speedball, a combination of heroin and cocaine. Pentagon spends $40 million on interdiction. By 1990, the General Accounting Office will report that the military's efforts have had no discernible impact on the flow of drugs. Crack cocaine begins flooding urban areas and gains popularity because of its low cost an immediate, albeit brief, high. It soon becomes an epidemic in inner cities across the U.S. MDMA is classified as a Schedule I controlled substance and most therapists stop using it. The black market for the drug continued to thrive. 1986 Throughout the '80s cocaine use soars in the US, especially among the professional classes. So much so that a 1986 survey estimates that 1 in 11 Americans has used the drug. President Reagan signs the Anti-Drug Abuse Act into law, which raises the jail time for those caught with marijuana. Punishment was based on amount of the drug; the law was later amended to include a "three strikes and you're out" policy. This meant life sentences for repeat offenders, and the death penalty for those found to be kingpins in the drug industry. 1IN 11 22 million Americans report they had tried cocaine at least once; that's 1 in 11 people. 1987 Ecstasy use becomes integral to British rave culture after being popularized by clubbers at dance parties in Ibiza. CEA 1989 Nearly half the arrests in New York City are related to crack possession or distribution. DECADE THE 1990s 1990 A third and finally successful wave of lawsuits hits the tobacco companies, bolstered in part by leaked documents that suggest companies were aware of smoking's deadly effects. With millions of dollars in settlements going to plaintiffs, states become involved, with 42 states suing four tobacco companies and alleging their products had caused significant costs to public health. 1991 The federal government suspends the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana program, which had provided free medical marijuana to patients with serious illnesses. 1992 President Clinton admits to having smoked cannabis in his youth but says he never inhaled. RMEDICAL USE ONLY Mid-1990s Cigarette smoking loses its cache throughout the U.S., with more cities and states enacting anti-smoking ordinances, so tobacco companies begin marketing heavily outside of the U.S. and smoking rates began to go up in other parts of the world. 1993 Actor River Phoenix overdoses on a speedball, while the following year Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain dies in a heroin-related suicide. Late 1990s A new form of amphetamine hits the black market. Known as crystal meth, this form of the drug is relatively cheap, very strong and easy for the home chemist to make using drugstore ingredients. Meth use quickly spreads from the Midwest around the county; isolated, rural Southwestern and Western communities where the drug could be cooked in secret are especially affected. METH-RELATED DEATHS 1991 1994 2.500 1995 1996 Purdue Pharma releases oxycodone under the name OxyContin. The drug is intended for use as a painkiller, but users soon discovered that if they crushed the pills, they could release the ingredient and California passes Proposition 215, which allows patients and their caregivers access to medical marijuana with a prescription. The initiative is approved by 56% of voters. Alaska, Oregon, Washington and Maine would later pass similar measures. active snort, smoke or inject it to get high. OxyContin eventually becomes known as OxyContin so mg 1996 Hillbilly Heroin. The states and the tobacco companies reached a settlement. Terms included paying the states for health care costs every year, limiting advertising, and creating a foundation to reduce the number of R, Only t00 Tahiet youth smokers. Congress passes the Comprehensive Methamphetamine Control Act, regulating the sale of certain chemicals used to make meth, such as red phosphorous and iodine. Law enforcement was empowered to track large shipments of pseudoepinephrine and chemical companies were held accountable for vetting their customers. HEBIG DATA AGE 2001 to TODAY 2000 OxyContin use continues to rise. In Canada, OxyContin-related deaths increased from 13.7 deaths per million in 1991 to 27.2 deaths per million in 2004. 27.2 DEATHS PER MILLION 30 13.7 25 DEATHS PER MILLION 20 15 10 1991 2004 Three states passed medical marijuana initiatives, but a year later the U.S. Supreme Court rules that there were no legal exceptions to the Controlled Substances Act prohibition on cannabis. Meth surpasses cocaine, crack, and heroin as the favored "hard drug" in many parts of the U.S. By 2009, 1.2 million Americans reporting using the drug at least once. 2002 It is revealed that Britain's Prince Harry smoked cannabis on several occasions the previous summer. A U.S. Court of Appeals rules that the government cannot revoke a physician's license for prescribing medical marijuana, but a year later, the House of Representatives defeats an amendment that would have halted federal raids on medical marijuana patients and distribution centers. 2003 Dutch pharmacies begin stocking medical marijuana, and the Canadian government begins supplying medical marijuana to approved patients. A year later, the U.K. reclassifies cannabis to a lower drug schedule that carried fewer Congress passes the Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act, which targeted methamphetamine and Ecstasy. penalties for possession. 2004 Montana voters approve a medical marijuana initiative by 62%, making it the 10th state to decriminalize the drug. Just a year later, in Gonzalez v. Raich the Supreme Court ruled that Congress could still ban medical marijuana use in states where it had been decriminalized. A few months after the ruling, federal agents raided 13 dispensaries in California. 62% VOTES 2005 2006 Congress passes the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act, which requires stores to keep products that contain certain chemicals, such as ephedrine, under lock and key, as well as register all sales of these substances. The FDA releases a statement confirming opposition to medical marijuana, stating that the drug is harmful. The U.K. upgrades cannabis back to Class B, a more harmful class of substances, In the 2008 same year, a California appeals court rules that limiting medical marijuana possession amounts is unconstitutional and the attorney general issues state guidelines for possession. Synthetic marijuana products began appearing on the shelves of head shops, tobacco sellers, and other legal retail establishments. Often I Spice or K2, this lab-created product is called usually labeled with a "not for human consumption" sticker so as to avoid legal scrutiny. A 2011 report finds that 11.4 percent of high school seniors had used it within the previous year. 2009 U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announces that raids on medical marijuana clinics would no longer be a priority for the federal government. 2010 New synthetic drugs called "bath salts" begin appearing in stores. They often are labeled "plant food," "glass cleaner," or "screen cleaner." However, these drugs are actually made from synthetic chemicals called cathinones that mimic the effects of amphetamines. Like Spice, the chemical composition of bath salts changes from batch to batch, so the drug is difficult to regulate. A few months later, he announces that the Department of Justice will no longer prioritize the prosecution of medical marijuana patients. 2010 Purdue Pharma introduces OxyContin OP, an abuse-resistant formula, in an attempt to halt addiction rates. Spee 2011 Though the changing chemical composition of these products makes them difficult to classify, Congress passes the Synthetic Drug Control Act as a first step toward regulation. 2011 The Department of Justice sends letters to states with medical marijuana programs, threatening to prosecute growers and distributors, TODAY More than half of the adults over age 18 in the U.S. are regular drinkers, or consume at least 12 drinks per year. Annually, 80,000 deaths in the U.S. are attributed to excessive alcohol use, making it the third leading cause of death in the country. Coffee is the world's most popular beverage. It's grown around the globe, from Asia to Africa, the South Pacific to the Caribbean, and is part of the regular diet of millions of people. World over, people consume more than 400 billion cups of coffee annually. Tobacco use has dropped steadily. In 2000, 23.3% of the U.S. population smoked. In 2010, that number was 19.3%. However, tobacco companies continue to market heavily, spending more than $12 billion on advertising each year. Marijuana policy in the U.S. is murky at best. During the fall 2012 elections, voters in Washington and Colorado approved measures legalizing recreational use of marijuana, while the U.S. Court of Appeals heard an argument to overturn an earlier decision by the DEA to continue classifying cannabis as a Class I sub- stance. Growing, selling and buying marijuana remains a crime - and cannabis is still illegal under federal law, regardless of state laws. Despite years of prohibitive regulations, heroin continues to flow into the U.S. Today, of the drug comes Afghanistan, major muche where poppy cultivation is a major industry; in fact, Afghan farmers harvest 80% of the world's supply of opium. A decade of war and political instability has done little to stem the tide. In 2012 alone, the Taliban is estimated to have made about $155 million from the year's poppy crop While cocaine consumption appears to be on the decline, more than 180,000 people still go to rehab for cocaine addiction every year. In 2004 alone, more than 12,500 people were arrested for possession or distribution of cocaine or crack. In recent years, meth use has been on the decline, with rates falling from 731,000 regular users in 200o6 to 314,000 in 2008. COCAINE APPEARS TO BE RACIALLY DIVIDED, WITH 82% OF CRACK-RELATED ARRESTS IN 2006 INVOLVING AFRICAN-AMERICANS, However, it remains a popular drug among three specific populations: unemployed people in their 20s and 30s, college and high school students, and blue-collar Caucasians, AND 72% OF POWDER COCAINE ARRESTS INVOLVING CAUCASIANS OR LATINOS. The 2000s saw club drugs like Ecstasy and ketamine retain their popularity, while new synthetic drugs were added to the mix. Sometimes known as designer drugs, today's synthetics are designed to stay one step ahead of law enforcement. LOOKING AHEAD If humans have proven anything by their long involvement with drugs, it's that they're adaptable. When one drug becomes unavailable or goes out of fashion, the next comes along to fill the gap. The study also found that more than 23 million Americans need some form of addiction treatment. Unfortunately, only 2.6 million – just over 10o% – actually get the treatment they needed. MEANWHILE, DRUG ABUSE KILLS ABOUT 200,000 PEOPLEEVERY YEAR - OR ONE DEATH EVERY 19 MINUTES IN THE U.S. - UNDERSCORING THE NEED FOR EFFECTIVE EDUCATION AND TREATMENT PROGRAMS. A COMPREHENSIVE 2010 SURVEY FOUND THAT 22 MILLION AMERICANS - THAT'S NEARLY 9% OF THE ADULT POPULATION – USE ILLEGAL DRUGS. ABOUT 131 MILLION PEOPLE DRINK ALCOHOL, OR ABOUT HALF OF THE POPULATION, WHILE ABOUT A QUARTER OF AMERICANS USE TOBACCO. active internet marketing LM MTRAI CLASS IGARE TES EDICAL USE UNLY FOR ME