<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (December 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> This is a timeline of the history of drug prohibition in the United States . </P> <P> Around 1860: Efforts to regulate the sale of pharmaceuticals began, and laws were introduced on a state - to - state basis that created penalties for mislabeling drugs, adulterating them with undisclosed narcotics, and improper sale of those considered "poisons". Poison laws generally either required labels on the packaging indicating the harmful effects of the drugs or prohibited sale outside of licensed pharmacies and without a doctor's prescription . Prominent pharmaceutical societies at the time supported the listing of cannabis as a poison . </P> <P> 1880: The U.S. and Qing Dynasty China complete an agreement prohibiting the shipment of opium between the two countries; Qing China itself was still reeling from the effects of fighting the Opium War after a failed attempt to stem the British importing of opium into China proper (see Lin Zexu). </P>

When was the first legislation to control the distribution and use of narcotics passed