Narcotic Control Act

[Page 543]The Narcotic Control Act was passed in 1956 in response to the results of a nationwide investigation of narcotics trafficking, addiction, and treatment. The act imposed some of the strictest drug control penalties to date, and was supported by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) as a means of reducing narcotics trafficking and use in the United States. The act increased the penalties and mandatory minimum prison sentences outlined by the Boggs Act of 1951 and introduced the death penalty for certain drug offenses. The mandatory minimum sentences imposed by the act were later eliminated by the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970.