Opium Exclusion Act
The Opium Exclusion Act, enacted in 1909, was a significant piece of legislation in the United States aimed at addressing the growing concern over opium and its derivatives, which were increasingly associated with addiction and social issues. The Act prohibited the importation of opium and its compounds, such as morphine, codeine, and heroin, effective April 1, 1909, with a specific exception for medicinal use. This legislative move was part of a broader international effort to combat opium abuse and trafficking, highlighted by the discussions at the Shanghai Opium Commission earlier that same year. The United States sought to position itself as a leader in the global movement against opium, reflecting the alarming addiction rates seen in other countries, particularly Great Britain, where opium production was historically supported. The Opium Exclusion Act laid the groundwork for future narcotics regulation in the U.S., leading to further restrictions under the Harrison Narcotic Act of 1914. This Act illustrates the historical complexities surrounding drug policy, public health, and international relations, emphasizing the societal impacts of narcotics during that era.
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Opium Exclusion Act
The Law: Federal law banning the importation of opium and opium compounds, except those used expressly for medicinal purposes
Date: Became law on April 1, 1909
Significance: Designed to prevent the importation of mass quantities of opium into the United States, this law was one of the first attempts by the U.S. government to limit the importation of a specific substance.
The Opium Exclusion Act targeted one of the social ills of its era. Opium-based commerce became a highly visible issue during the mid-nineteenth century, and the dangers of opium abuse were further highlighted by the elevated rate of opium addiction in Great Britain, whose government actually fostered opium production in its Asian colonies. Restricting access to opium became an important component of American foreign policy as the United States called for the global outlawing of opium at the inaugural Shanghai Opium Commission meetings in January, 1909. Eager to prove that the nation was willing to enforce this policy at the domestic level, the U.S. Congress drafted and passed the Opium Exclusion Act in the spring of 1909.
![Confiscated opium pipes in Hawaii are piled up and readied for burning in this photo circa 1920. See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons 95342996-20390.jpg](https://imageserver.ebscohost.com/img/embimages/ers/sp/embedded/95342996-20390.jpg?ephost1=dGJyMNHX8kSepq84xNvgOLCmsE2epq5Srqa4SK6WxWXS)
![Opium Poppy By Louise Joly, one half of AtelierJoly (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/1.0)], via Wikimedia Commons 95342996-20391.jpg](https://imageserver.ebscohost.com/img/embimages/ers/sp/embedded/95342996-20391.jpg?ephost1=dGJyMNHX8kSepq84xNvgOLCmsE2epq5Srqa4SK6WxWXS)
The act itself called for the banning of the importation of opium or any opium containing compound beginning on April 1, 1909, with an exception made for opium used for medicinal purposes. This importation also included derivatives of opium such as morphine, codeine and heroin—various narcotics that were gaining in popularity in the early twentieth century. The regulation of the sale of opium, and other narcotics, was further restricted in the Harrison Narcotic Act of 1914.
Bibliography
Berridge, Virginia, and Griffith Edwards. Opium and the People: Opiate Use in Nineteenth-Century England. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1981.
Maccoun, Robert J. Drug War Heresies: Learning from Other Vices, Times, and Places. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
Walker, William O. Opium and Foreign Policy: The Anglo-American Search for Order in Asia, 1912-1954. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1991.