History Research Paper: War on Drugs

War on Drugs
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Institution
Abstract
The use of drugs for medicinal and recreational purposes was a convention in the historical past but the advent of civilization changed it dramatically. The use of some drugs was illegal as early as the 18th century, but the prohibition era fueled the criminalization of drug abuse and drug trafficking, leading to a series of legislations that eventually led to the declaration of war on drugs by president Richard Nixon in 1971. The president took drastic measures in a bid to fight the drug war, some of which still are applicable in the contemporary era. Criticism, both positive and negative, have helped shape the conversation around the war on drugs, igniting meaningful reforms on the policies and strategies used in the fight. However, the perception that the fight has done more harm than good is overwhelming and possibly likely to influence future trends in the approaches used to fight drugs and drug abuse. The fact that there is still widespread abuse of drugs in the United States is a clear indication that the system is broken, and drastic measures need to be taken. Some states have initiated the processes of legalizing some schedule I drugs while treating drug addiction as a health concern rather than a criminal act.
Keywords: War on Drugs, criminalization, policies on drugs, legalizing, drug addiction, drug trafficking
War on Drugs
Introduction
Drug use in the United States was meant for medicinal and recreational purposes until the 19th century when some states imposed legislation that either banned or restricted consumption of some drugs. The fact the drug business was lucrative at the time influenced Congress to raise taxation of morphine and opium (Redford & Powell, 2016). Before the prohibition era, a few other acts had been enacted in a bid to fight drug abuse, examples being the Smoking Opium Exclusion Act of 1909 and the Harison Act of 1914, which imposed several restrictions on cocaine and opiates (Redford & Powell, 2016). The 18th amendment that marked the start of the prohibition era succeeded the Harrison Act, banning the manufacture, sale, and distribution of alcohol. The Prohibition Act also outlined the enforcement guidelines during the prohibition era. The era was characterized by a lot of llegalities, giving birth to organized crimes and powerful and brutal crime syndicates that eventually led to the repeal of the act in 1933. Several other laws were enacted not necessarily banning the use of hard drugs but rather imposing hefty penalties and taxation in a bid to curtail their excessive use.
The end of World War II marked the beginning of the extensive use of illicit drugs. Before the 1950s, alcohol, and cigarettes were the most commonly abused illicit drugs. A dramatic change in the use of illicit drugs was witnessed in the 1950s as eight additional drugs joined the list of the most abused drugs. The changes have been attributed to several factors including the large numbers of young adults, familial derogations, drastic changes in beliefs and values, and the shifts in the drug market (Seddon, 2016). The government officials and the experts had noticed the worrying trends of drug abuse and its effect in fueling rebellion, convolution, and violent protest. This forced a shift of focus from scientific research on the medical use of drugs to finding out the efficacy and safety of their use. As a result, there was a categorization of drugs based on their likelihood of abuse and medical efficiency when used under prescription (Redford & Powell, 2016). What followed was the enactment of the Controlled Substances Act in 1970. It was in the year 1971 that president Richard Nixon declared the war on drugs campaign, owing to the persistent abuse and vices associated with the abuse, which the president viewed as a disaster to society.
Notable Actions
The fight against illicit drugs and drug abuse declared by President Richard Nixon was not just a word or mouth or empty political promise but rather, drastic measures followed the declaration. The most immediate actions were the increase of funding to the multiagency teams fighting drugs and creation of other agencies to tackle the issue. Agencies formed include Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Special Action Office and Drug Abuse Prevention (SAODAP). The DEA, which has been strengthened today, is a special police unit responsible for combating drug abuse, smuggling, and drug trafficking in the United States. The mandatory prison sentencing for drug crimes was also President Nixon's idea aimed at tightening the knob on the war on crimes. Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter were not as enthusiastic about the war on drugs campaign, which prompted several states to initiate the decriminalization of marijuana (SChuLTZ, 2018).
President Ronald Reagan was determined to continue Nixon's legacy on the War on Drugs. Together with his wife, Reagan launched a proactive campaign meant to convey sensible information on drugs (Blackman et al., 2018). The ‘Just Say No’ campaign was driven by the massive use of cocaine by the American in the 1980s. President Reagan made the penalties to drug offenders even stiffer, and it led to the mass incarceration of drug offenders, including those involved with nonviolent crimes. Reagan administration steered the passing of the Antidrug Abuse Act that imposed a mandatory minimum sentence to drug offenders, further increasing the number of prisoners on drug offenses. The Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) was launched by the Los Angeles Police Department in collaboration with school administrations to help educate students on the harm that drug use might cause to their lives(Blackman et al., 2018). Most of the initiatives aimed at combating drug trafficking and drug abuse are still useful in the contemporary era, although the intensity has somehow diminished when compared to Nixon’s and Reagan's tenure. This is due to the much politicized and heated criticism of the war on drugs initiative.
Over the past decades, the war on drugs has been a responsibility of multiple agencies including the Department of State, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, and the Department of Defence (GAO, 2017). Through their collaborative approach, the multiple agencies established that the drugs sold and abused within the United States were smuggled through the southern border from the rest of the world, and the major suppliers were the countries in the Western Hemisphere (GAO, 2017). This prompted the establishment of additional supporting agencies, specifically tasked with the coordination and the development of strategies necessary to fight drug trafficking from the Western Hemisphere. The formation of Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and the Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission (GAO, 2017) was significant in the fight against drugs trafficking. The multiagency team was responsible for the interdictions of drug traffickers at the border and international waters, gathering intelligence, and dismantling any drug organization or support groups dealing drugs. The amount of money pumped into these agencies to help them in the fight cumulatively amounts to billions of dollars (GAO, 2017), with the DEA and the Custom and Border Protection (CBP) receiving the lion’s share.
President Trump has been vocal about the war on drugs, and his administration has taken some drastic measures in a bid to counter drug cartels smuggling drugs and humans across the border to the United States. Despite the criticism of his drastic measures, President Trump has been relentless with his border security strategies, including the building of a wall along the Mexican border. He also recommended the death penalty for drug traffickers while reinstating harsher penalties on nonviolent criminals that Obama administration had eased as it tried to level the ground for both the whites and the minorities.
Criticism of War on Drugs
Supporters of president Nixon and Reagan had some positive criticism on the declaration of the war on drugs campaign The fact that agencies put in place during President Nixon's tenure to primarily...