The Next Bureau

In 1930 Congress voted to approve the creation of a Bureau of Narcotics which would be placed under the supervision of the hemmeroaging Prohibition Bureau.[1] This new Bureau was tasked with enforcing the Harrison Act, a law which regulated the prescription of opiates by doctors. Interestingly, this Bureau would be filled with former Prohibition agents and chiefs who would witness the collapse of their former agency. The most important of these transplants would be former Assistant Commissioner of Prohibition, Harry J. Anslinger. Following the forced resignation of the Bureau of Narcotic’s first commissioner, General Nutt, due to accusations of bribery and corruption in early February of 1930, Anslinger would be appointed temporary Commissioner of Narcotics.[2] Later that year he would be voted in as official commissioner of the Bureau, a position he would hold until 1962.

This new Bureau would rapidly move to avoid a similar fate to its parent Bureau. Within a few years of its creation, Anslinger would work to expand the jurisdiction of the Bureau. This would include increasing regulation on the use of performance enhancing drugs in horse racing, the passage of a uniform narcotic bill across the United States and the criminalization of marijuana.[3] Anslinger would work tirelessly to increase the reach and funding for the Bureau. His efforts were meet with success and by the 1950’s he had created a Bureau that was tasked with fighting drug use and manufacturing at home and abroad.[4]

With Anslinger’s retirement in 1962 and his death in 1975, the Bureau of Narcotics struggled without his strong leadership. It would be restructured twice before it emerged as the current Drug Enforcement Administration.[5] In conclusion, the relevance of the Prohibition Bureau has yet to be fully understood because it has been overlooked and ignored. The Prohibition Bureau must be understood as a revolutionary law enforcement agency because of its position as the first specialized law enforcement agency of the twentieth century. The strategies, policies, and ideology it presented to federal law enforcement would remain long after the repeal of the 18^th amendment and continue to shape modern day law enforcement.