Federal Bureau of Narcotics

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The Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) is a historic United States agency that existed from 1930 to 1968.

history

prehistory

Before 1930, the United States Treasury Department for the enforcement of the National Prohibition Act (also known as the Volstead Act ), which made alcohol illegal by the 18th Amendment , was the Prohibition Unit, which in turn contained a narcotics division. The Narcotics Department was responsible for enforcing the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act of 1914 and the Narcotic Drugs Import and Export Act of 1922. The Federal Bureau of Narcotics was then established by Act of Congress in 1930 and linked the Federal Narcotics Control Board to narcotics -Department of the Department of the Treasury , while the Federal Bureau of Narcotics remained in the Department of the Treasury .

Chairman

The first chairman of the FBN was Harry J. Anslinger , appointed by the uncle of his wife Andrew W. Mellon , Herbert Hoover's Treasury Secretary. Under Anslinger's leadership, the FBN campaigned for tougher penalties for drug use and obtained the quasi-ban on cannabis through the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. Anslinger was also the driving force behind the Unified Narcotics Agreement , which was passed in 1961.

tasks

The agency assumed the role and duties of the Federal Narcotics Control Board and the narcotics division of the Prohibition Unit .

The special focus here was on the detection and prevention of opium and heroin smuggling, a purpose for which branches were set up in France, Italy, Turkey, Beirut, Thailand, among other locations. The agents of the FBN cooperated with the local prosecuting authorities in seizures and were authorized to carry out drug raids in places that served as transshipment points.

resolution

In 1968 the FBN itself was merged with the Bureau of Drug Abuse Control to form the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs , which was to become today's Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b William C. Plouffe: Federal Bureau of Narcotics . In: Encyclopedia of Drug Policy, doi : 10.4135 / 9781412976961.n125
  2. ↑ a b Federal Bureau of Narcotics. addiction.com, accessed March 28, 2016 .