Prior to the Harrison Act, most narcotic addicts were which category?

• A. African American
• B. Medical addicts
• C. Heroin injectors
• D. Street criminals

Answer: (B)

Before the Harrison Act, narcotic use flowed largely through legitimate medical channels. Opioids like morphine and opium were legally prescribed and widely used in medicines and patent remedies, so many people became dependent as patients or through regular medical treatment. Addiction was viewed as a medical issue arising from prescribed use, not as a crime or street-level problem. That’s why the best description for the typical addict at that time is medical addicts.

The Harrison Act later changed the landscape by regulating and taxing narcotics, which shifted some dynamics toward illegal markets and criminalized aspects of supply and distribution. But prior to that regulation, medical use was the dominant context for narcotic dependence.