21 U.S.C. § 171
Section 171 · 171 to 174. Repealed. Pub. L. 91513, title III, 1101(a)(2), (4), Oct. 27, 1970, 84 Stat. 1291
Applied in 45 court decisions — leading case United States v. Basurto (1974)
Most recently applied in Pattie Walcott v. Merrick Garland (December 2021)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Section 171, acts Feb. 9, 1909, ch. 100, 1, 35 Stat. 614; Jan. 17, 1914, ch. 9, 38 Stat. 275; May 26, 1922, ch. 202, 1, 42 Stat. 596; June 14, 1930, ch. 488, 3, 46 Stat. 586; July 1, 1944, ch. 377, 8, 58 Stat. 721; Mar. 8, 1946, ch. 81, 7, 60 Stat. 39; Aug. 8, 1953, ch. 394, 8, 67 Stat. 506, defined narcotic drug, United States, and person. See section 801 et seq. of this title. Section 172, acts Feb. 9, 1909, ch. 100, 2(a), 35 Stat. 614; Jan. 17, 1914, ch. 9, 38 Stat. 275; June 7, 1924, ch. 352, 43 Stat. 657, established a Federal Narcotics Control Board. Act May 26, 1922, ch. 202, 1, 42 Stat. 596, also classified to this section, was repealed by Pub. L. 89–554, § 8(a), Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 645. Section 173, acts Feb. 9, 1909, ch. 100, 2(b), (d), 35 Stat. 614; Jan. 17, 1914, ch. 9, 38 Stat. 275; May 26, 1922, ch. 202, 1, 42 Stat. 596; June 7, 1924, ch. 352, 43 Stat. 657; June 14, 1930, ch. 488, 3, 46 Stat. 586, prohibited importation of narcotic drugs. See section 801 et seq. of this title. Section 173a, act June 14, 1930, ch. 488, 6, 46 Stat. 587, provided for importation of additional amounts of coca leaves. Section 174, acts Feb. 9, 1909, ch. 100, 2(c), (f), 35 Stat. 614; Jan. 17, 1914, ch. 9, 38 Stat. 275; May 26, 1922, ch. 202, 1, 42 Stat. 596; June 7, 1924, ch. 352, 43 Stat. 657; Nov. 2, 1951, ch. 666, 1, 5 (1), 65 Stat. 767; July 18, 1956, ch. 629, title I, 105, 70 Stat. 570, set penalties for bringing narcotic drugs into the United States contrary to law. See chapter 13 of this title.