Harry Anslinger in History of Drugs in America

Harry Anslinger in History of Drugs in America

Harry Anslinger (1892–1975) was the first director of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, serving in that position from the bureau's founding in 1930 until 1962.

Anslinger was a zealous opponent of drug use, directing his bureau aggressively to target drug criminals. Anslinger's testimony before Congress was instrumental in passing the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act, which for the first time, criminalized marijuana use under federal law. 

Anslinger's prohibitionist anti-drug tactics have since been adopted by subsequent "drug czars" in the War on Drugs.