Federal Bureau of Narcotics (United States) 1773822 224496816 2008-07-09T02:56:37Z SGT141 3444741 Added See also section and portals The '''Federal Bureau of Narcotics''' (or '''FBN''') was an agency of the [[United States Department of the Treasury]]. Established in the Department of the Treasury by an act of June 14, 1930 consolidating the functions of the Federal Narcotics Control Board and the Narcotic Division. These older bureaus were established to assume enforcement responsibilities assigned to the [[Harrison Narcotic Act]], 1914 and the Narcotic Drugs Import and Export Act, 1922.<ref>[http://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/170.html#170.3 Records of the Drug Enforcement Administration [DEA]]</ref> [[Harry J. Anslinger]] was appointed its first commissioner by [[Secretary of the Treasury]] [[Andrew Mellon]] under [[President of the United States|President]] [[Herbert Hoover]]. Under Anslinger, the bureau lobbied for harsh penalties for drug usage. The FBN is credited for criminalizing drugs such as [[cannabis]] with the [[1937 Marijuana Tax Act|Marijuana Tax Act of 1937]], as well as strengthening the [[Harrison Narcotics Tax Act]] of [[1914]]. Even so, the main focus of the FBN was fighting [[opium]] and [[heroin]] smuggling. To that end the FBN over time established several offices overseas in [[France]], [[Italy]], [[Turkey]], [[Beirut]], [[Thailand]] and other hotspots of international narcotics smuggling. These agents (never totaling more than 17) cooperated with local drug enforcement agencies in gathering intelligence on smugglers and also made [[undercover]] busts locally. The work against heroin and opium was however hamstrung by US [[foreign policy]] considerations: during the [[Vietnam war]] for instance great importance was placed on investigating minor Vietnamese smugglers that could be connected to the resistance while investigations of large scale smugglers from the US ally [[Thailand]] were left unfinished. Anslinger retired in [[1962]] and was succeeded by [[Henry Giordano]], who was the commissioner of the FBN until it was merged with the [[Bureau of Drug Abuse Control]] to form the [[Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs]] in [[1968]]. == See also == {{Portal|United States|Flag of the United States.svg}} {{Portal|Law enforcement/Law enforcement topics|Nuvola apps agent.svg}} * [[List of United States federal law enforcement agencies]] ==References== {{reference}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Narcotics}} [[Category:Defunct agencies of the United States government]] [[Category:United States Department of the Treasury]] [[Category:Federal law enforcement agencies of the United States]] [[Category:Drug control history|Federal Bureau of Narcotics]]