This paper will discuss the topic of The War on Drugs in America and the harsh realities of what was occurring during the Nixon and Reagan era. It will take a look at past history and the origins of when this drug epidemic became such a hazard in America’s roots. It was first declared in 1971 by President Richard Nixon due to his strong belief that drug abuse was “public enemy number one.” With that, he installed widespread fear amongst citizens as well as creating several alternative means that sought to eliminate the problem. Then throughout President Ronald Reagan’s term, he refocused the nation’s attention back to the issue which led to a significant increase in incarcerations for nonviolent drug crimes. These were times where individuals slipped away from the norm and began experimenting in different areas such as opposition towards the government and social conformity in diverse groups. This then lead to the greater issue of The War on Drugs becoming a war on the people because of its effects on minority groups. The social justice sought by many was to end the racial discrimination placed by higher powers on these groups of people in means to gain political wealth. Introduction
War on drugs was started in 1971 by President Nixon of United States of America who realized existence of far reaching impacts that
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Drug abuse and substance use have been categorized as a major reason for increased crime and rebellion amongst citizenly. Women, children and unemployed middle aged individuals experience increased crime rate as they are considered less contributors to general economic decisions. These include the inaccessibility of social amenities, lack of security and likely a surge in desperation to engage in misconducts that attract forceful interventions from existing
Laws were established, and plans were occurred in order to eliminate American citizens from obtaining and using drugs, additionally to stop other countries from manufacturing, transporting these drugs across borders into the United States and selling/distributing them. After countless failed attempts, it was determined by Nixon that the supply for drugs existed due to the large demand and the suppliers would find anyway to succeed. Unfortunately Nixon did not act according to this understanding. Following this, Nixon launched numerous attempts to go into Mexico and eliminate the supply side of the drug war. He quickly learned that eliminating one route used by drug traffickers only resulted in them opening another route to continue their
Since Nixon and Reagan started the war on drugs the United States have struggled to keep a drug policy that would actually keep people from using drugs. The war on drugs was something that change the history of this country, by making drug trafficking their main priority. This is becoming a big issue since this issue is something that many Americans do everyday. During the time in 1971, President Richard Nixon was the man that created the Drug Enforcement Agency. This was the program called the war in drugs. This was supposed to keep narcotics out within our country and our borders. During 1994, the war on drugs caused people to go to jail, especially the non violent drug users. Criminalization is overcrowding the prisons by putting people
The war on drugs officially started in 1972 with Richard Nixon leading the charge. Nixon called drugs, “public enemy number one” because of the rising heroin addiction in Vietnam veterans. The Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs revamped by Nixon was founded in 1968 under Johnson . By 1972 Nixon starts the office of Drug Abuse Law Enforcement, to create a joint task force in the federal and state level, and resulted in the end of the French connection . The French connection was the Heroin drug trade that started from Turkey, were opium farmed legally to drug companies, sold underground, and ended in the streets of America, the products put on French ships were around 200 pounds . In response to the rivalry between BNDD and U.S. customs,
The Influence of the "War on Drugs" on Film and Television By James Moss and Benjamin Zulyevich. Much like the “Prohibition” era of the 1920’s before it, the "War on Drugs," proclaimed by former President Richard Nixon in 1971, intended to eliminate narcotics trafficking and usage throughout the United States through the use of Police, Military, and Intelligence efforts both in the United States and internationally. Significant incidents including the creation of the DEA in 1973, the Controlled Substances Act of 1965, and the CIA Crack-Contra controversy became infamous for their role in the War on Drugs.
The War on Drugs ruined the lives of many people, wasted billions of taxpayer dollars, and especially targeted people of color. The war originally attacked poor communities of color with heroin and cocaine laws (War). After President Nixon, Ronald Reagan re-launched the war of drugs in 1982 by “ increasing anti-drug enforcement spending, creating a federal drug task force, and helping to foster a culture that demonized drug use and drug users” (Cooper). Cooper found
Some people believe that Nixon's war on drugs was a huge failure and here are some reasons why. The US is not effective in eradicating the drugs.. Lastly it is focused more on putting people in prison rather than getting people help.
The war on drugs began during Nixon’s administration in 1968 and was designed in efforts to reduce the amount of drugs being sold and consumed in America (Moore & Elkavich, 2008). Nixon believed that getting drugs out of the hands of people would make the country a safer and better place, however these new drug laws did not reduce the amount of drugs being consumed or distributed. Instead, these laws incarcerated a large amount of people and have resulted in a continuation of inequality in our country. While Marx would argue that the war on drugs prolongs inequality through class conflict because it targets low class individuals, advantages upper class communities while disadvantaging the poor communities, and it makes the cycle of class differences continue, Wells-Barnett would argue that the war on drugs perpetuates inequality through its racism because it was created in response to colored people using drugs, it targets black males, and the sentencing varies based on whom the drug is linked to.
In 1971, President Richard Nixon initiated the national War on Drugs, which focused on the passage of policies geared toward fighting illegal substances (Amundson, Zajicek, and Hunt, 2014). During this time, Nixon allocated two-thirds of federal dollars for treatment of drug addiction and prevention of new users and one-third of federal dollars for interdiction and enforcement (Amundson et al., 2014). After Nixon’s initial War on Drugs program, policies and programs began to shift. Under the Regan Administration, the War on Drugs became more punitive and there was a reversal of federal dollars. Under the new and subsequent regimes, two-thirds of money was spent on interdiction and enforcement and one-third was spent on treatment and prevention (Amundson et al., 2014). Under this new Administration came tougher sentencing, an increase in prison spending, and mandatory minimum sentencing for drug offenses (Amundson et al.,
President Nixon first declared the “war on drugs” on June of 1971. This came after heavy drug use during the 1960s. New York in particular, had a rise in heroin use. After Nixon’s declaration, states began decriminalizing the possession and distribution of marijuana and other drugs. Many small drug offences led to a mandatory fifteen years to life. This Drug War has led to an increase of incarceration rates since. One of the earliest laws that followed Nixon’s announcement were the Rockefeller Drug Laws that to not only failed to deter crime but also lead to other problems in the criminal justice system. With the Rockefeller Drug Laws came heavy racial disparity of those incarcerated for drug related crimes. Although the Obama Administration has begun reforms, the new President Elect Trump’s views may bring all the efforts back down.
In the year 1971, President Richard Nixon was convinced that America’s number one enemy was drug abuse. As a result, in that year he declared war on drugs, there was a punishment for not only supplying drugs but purchasing them as well. Nixon believed America would be a more effective and prosperous country if it were completely drug free. The war on drugs was really a convenient cover for the undeclared war on race. There were several consequences and negative effects for African Americans due to the “war”, more extensive drug regulations, over-policing, driving while black, drug sweeps, and finally no warrants when searching and seizing. More than half of the people in
According to Michelle Alexander, why and how has the “war on drugs” developed over the last 40 years? What are the main political and economic factors that led to the war on drugs, and what are the main political and economic factors that shaped it as it developed over the last four decades? Draw on material from the Foner textbook chapters 25 through 28 to supplement Alexander’s discussion of the political and economic context.
The War on Drugs began in increments, first with President Nixon and secondly with President Reagan (Hill, Oliver, Marion, 2012). While under the Nixon administration, the Drug Enforcement Administration was developed due to the thought of how drugs can affect an individual as well as a community. Drugs did not only affect the user and the community, but also the families as well as children. Out of all the presidents, it is documented that President Nixon was one who had discussions about drugs more than any other president (Hill, et al., 2012).
In the late 1960's and early 1970's, the federal government began to increasingly tighten drug laws. In 1972, President Richard Nixon formally declared a "War on Drugs", which continues
The War on Drugs is a term that is commonly applied to the campaign of prohibition of drugs. The goal of this campaign is to reduce the illegal drug trade across America. This term “ War on Drugs” was used during Nixon’s campaign in which he declared War on Drugs during a press conference in 1971. Following this declaration many organizations were created to stop the spread of drugs, like the DEA and Office of Drug Abuse Law Enforcement. Note that Nixon’s approach to this problem was to fund treatment rather than law enforcement. After Nixon’s retirement from office, most of the funding went from going into treatment to the law enforcement. Which militarized the police force giving the officer’s military weapons and gear. With this, the sentencing for possessing drugs was changed as well, resulting incarcerations rates to increase overtime. The increase of incarceration rates started to create many patterns that were soon noticeable. The funding’s that go into the law enforcement has shown to greatly have an affect on the incarceration rates.
The war on drugs was officially declared on June 1971 by President Nixon, when he dramatically increased the presence of federal drug control agencies, and pushed through measures such as mandatory sentencing and no-knock warrants. Many believe it is the number one issue in the United States today. The cost of this war has been lives, money, and the respect for law enforcement. The war on drugs has had little to no positive effects, while the decriminalization of drugs has many benefits. Citizens should inform themselves of everything our country could benefit from by simply decriminalizing what has been the cause of close to most incarcerations in federal and state prisons. There is no doubt that the war on drugs has a severe impact on the economy of our country. Drug criminalization is a multi-edged sword; the monetary costs, the loss of those who are lawfully employed in the labor market, and the deterioration of the relationships between the community and law enforcement.