1600s
Colonial laws allowed and encouraged hemp farming because of its use in ropes and sails on ships.

1805
Morphine is discovered.

1844
Cocaine is synthesized.

1845
A law prohibiting liquor sales is enacted in the state of New York, but was repealed in 1847.

1860s
Opiates like morphine are used as pain killers for injured soldiers on the battlefield during the Civil War.

1869
The Prohibition party is formed.

1869
The first laws against opium smoking were passed in San Francisco.

1886
Coca-Cola is invented as a medicine from the coca leaf, the source of cocaine, and the African kola nut, a source of caffeine.

1878
San Francisco passes the anti-opium den legislation. This was the first law controlling use and distribution of substance in America.

1898
The German drug company Bayer sells heroin as an over-the-counter cough suppressant.

1906
The Pure Food and Drug Act was passed, which formed the Food and Drug Administration and gave it power to regulate food and drugs and require labeling.

1914
The Harrison Narcotics Tax Act is passed, outlawing opiates and cocaine. It also requires prescriptions for products exceeding the allowable limit of narcotics and mandates increased record-keeping for pharmacists.

1919
The 18th Amendment banned manufacture, sale and transportation of alcohol.

1924
Manufacturing heroin is made illegal by the Heroin Act.

1933
18th Amendment repealed.

1937
Marijuana Tax Act is passed. It applies control over marijuana similar to those over narcotics.

1942
Opium Poppy Control Act prohibits growing of opium poppy without a license.

1951
Durham-Humphrey Amendment defines the kinds of drugs that cannot be safely used without medical supervision and restricts their sale to prescription by a licensed practitioner.

1956
The Narcotics Control Act passed, intended to impose even more severe penalties for narcotics violations.

1965
Drug Abuse Control Amendments place striker control over amphetamines, barbiturates and LSD.

1966
The Narcotic Addict Rehabilitation Act allows treatment as an alternative to jail.

1970
The Comprehensive Drug Abuse and Control Act replaces and overrides all previous laws concerning drugs and narcotics with an emphasis on law enforcement. It also categorized drugs based on abuse and addiction potential compared to their therapeutic value.

1973
The Methadone Control Act regulates methadone licensing.

1973
The Alcohol, Drug Abuse and Mental Health Administration is formed consolidating NIMH, NIDA and NIAAA under one organization.

1973
The Drug Enforcement Administration is formed from the remodeled Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.

1984
The Drug Offenders Act set up special programs for offenders and organizes treatment.

1986
The Analogue Act (Designer Drug) makes use of substances with similar effects and structure to existing illicit drugs illegal.

1990
The Anabolic Steroid Act is passed, identifying steroids as a class of drugs and specifying two dozen other controlled substances.

2005
The Drug Safety Board is announced.

2009
The FDA Center for Tobacco Products is established.

2011
The DEA places an emergency ban on Bath Salts.