NCJ Number
184658
Date Published
1999
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This chapter describes Germany's efforts to regulate the cocaine industry.
Abstract
The chapter offers a brief overview of the German cocaine industry and early steps toward government regulation. It also explores the international and domestic dynamics of control efforts during the Hague deliberations and addresses German regulatory steps in the context of the Versailles Treaty. Cocaine underwent a transformation from miracle drug to social menace in Germany, home to the world's leading cocaine producer, E. Merck. Most histories attribute the change mainly to the impact of international pressures related to the Hague deliberations and the Versailles Peace Treaty, pressures that were able to override the political influence of the powerful cocaine industry. This article suggests that the change was based on an ongoing process of transformation from the late 19th century through the early 1920's. The influence of the German pharmaceutical industry was weakened by problems of organizational fragmentation and limited collective interest on the issue of cocaine. Policymakers in Imperial and Weimar Germany appeared to act from "bureaucratic politics," broadly defined security interests (in protecting competitiveness and, later, in securing supplies), and perceptions of domestic drug abuse. Tables, primary sources, notes