The New York Times February 8, 1948
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DRUG SEIZURES INCREASE
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Treasury reports More Illicit Traffic and Lower Prices
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Washington, Feb. 7 (AP)-- Increased traffic in illicit drugs during 1947 was indicated in a Treasury report today. For one thing, seizures by Customs and Narcotics agents increased "substantially," especially at the ports and borders, reflecting a step-up in smuggling.

For another, Narcotics Commissioner Harry J. Anslinger reported that prices quoted in the underworld "declined slightly from wartime highs," usually a sign of increased supplies. He said that seizures of opium and its derivatives totaled 7,388 ounces in 1947 compared with 5,464 ounces in 1946.

Agents seized 26,300 ounces of marijuana, much of it Mexican cargo destined for "the Chicago underworld," against 22,300 ounces in 1946.

Even more significant, the law enforcement officials said was the reappearance of heroin and cocaine, which had been "extremely scarce during the war years."