In 1914, in an effort to curb the indiscriminate use of narcotics, the federal government of the United States passed the Harrison Act, making it illegal to obtain a narcotic drug without a prescription. During the 1920 $BCT (J, the Supreme Court ruled that maintaining addicts on narcotic drugs, even by prescription, was in violation of the Harrison Act. Some 30,000 physicians were arrested during this period for dispensing narcotics, and some 3,000 actually convicted and served prison terms. Consequently, doctors all but abandoned the treatment for addicts for nearly half of a century of the United States (Musto, p.127). .
The use of narcotic drugs dropped sharply between 1920 $BCT (J, when there were almost half million addicts, and 1945, when the population of addicts was around 40,000 to 50,000. The recreational use of other drugs, such as marijuana, cocaine, stimulants, hallucinogens, and sedatives are used frequently today in the United States. Since 1960 $BCT (J, the use of most illegal drugs increased wide renege of unconventional behavior, including the movement against the war in Vietnam and popularity of rock music. Also, enormous media publicity developed to drug subculture came into existence. Some social groups viewed drug use in positive way, evaluated individuals on the basis of whether or not they used illegal drugs. This subculture was a powerful force in recruiting young people into the use of illegal psychoactive drugs. .
Attention of media to drug use declined between the 1960 $BCT (J and the1970 $BCT (J, actual use of drug did not decline. The late 1070 $BCT (J and early 1980 $BCT (J represent another turning point in the recreational use of marijuana, hallucinogens, sedatives, and amphetamines. Recent studies show a considerable drop in the use of most drug types in through the 1980 $BCT (J. .
In 1970, the United States Congress passed the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act.