War on drugs: Difference between revisions

Campaign of drug prohibition led by the US government

The war on drugs is a global campaign,^[7] led by the United States federal government, of drug prohibition, military aid, and military intervention, with the aim of reducing the illegal drug trade in the United States.^{[8][9][10][11]} The initiative includes a set of drug policies that are intended to discourage the production, distribution, and consumption of psychoactive drugs that the participating governments and the United Nations have made illegal. The term was coined by President Richard Nixon and popularized by the media shortly after a press conference given on June 18, 1971 – the day after publication of a special message from President Nixon to the Congress on Drug Abuse Prevention and Control – during which he declared drug abuse “public enemy number one”. That message to the Congress included text about devoting more federal resources to the “prevention of new addicts, and the rehabilitation of those who are addicted” but that part did not receive the same public attention as the term “war on drugs”.^[12][13][14] Two years prior to this, Nixon had formally declared a “war on drugs” that would be directed toward eradication, interdiction, and incarceration.^{[15][page needed]} In 2015, the Drug Policy Alliance, which advocates for an end to the War on Drugs, estimated that the United States spends $51 billion annually on these initiatives, and in 2021, after 50 years of the drug war, others have estimated that the US has spent a cumulative $1 trillion on it.^[16][17]

On May 13, 2009, Gil Kerlikowske – the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) – signaled that the Obama administration did not plan to significantly alter drug enforcement policy, but also that the administration would not use the term “War on Drugs”, because Kerlikowske considers the term to be “counter-productive”.^[18] ONDCP’s view is that “drug addiction is a disease that can be successfully prevented and treated… making drugs more available will make it harder to keep our communities healthy and safe”.^[19]

In June 2011, the Global Commission on Drug Policy released a critical report on the War on Drugs, declaring: “The global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world. Fifty years after the initiation of the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, and years after President Nixon launched the US government’s war on drugs, fundamental reforms in national and global drug control policies are urgently needed.”^[7] The report was criticized by organizations that oppose a general legalization of drugs.^[19]

History

19th century

Morphine was first isolated from opium between 1803 and 1805,^[20][21] and hypodermic syringes were first constructed in 1851. This was particularly significant during the American Civil War, when wounded soldiers were treated with morphine. This led to widespread morphine addiction among veterans of the war.^[22]

Until 1912, products such as heroin were sold over-the-counter in a form of cough syrup. Doctors also prescribed heroin for irritable babies, bronchitis, insomnia, “nervous conditions”, hysteria, menstrual cramps, and “vapors”, leading to mass addiction. In addition, laudanum, an opioid, was a common part of the home medicine cabinet.^[23][24]

In fiction, Conan Doyle portrayed the hero, Sherlock Holmes, as a cocaine addict.^[25]

20th century

The first U.S. law that restricted the distribution and use of certain drugs was the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act of 1914. The first local laws came as early as 1860.^[26] In 1919, the United States passed the 18th Amendment, prohibiting the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, with exceptions for religious and medical use. In 1920, the United States passed the National Prohibition Act (Volstead Act), enacted to carry out the provisions in the law of the 18th Amendment.

During World War I many soldiers were treated with morphine and became addicts.^[22]

The Federal Bureau of Narcotics was established in the United States Department of the Treasury by an act of June 14, 1930 (46 Stat. 585).^[27] In 1933, the federal prohibition for alcohol was repealed by passage of the 21st Amendment. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt publicly supported the adoption of the Uniform State Narcotic Drug Act. The New York Times used the headline “Roosevelt Asks Narcotic War Aid”.^[28][29]

In 1937, the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 was passed. Several scholars have claimed that the goal was to destroy the hemp industry,^[30][31][32] largely as an effort of businessmen Andrew Mellon, Randolph Hearst, and the Du Pont family.^[30][32] These scholars argue that with the invention of the decorticator, hemp became a very cheap substitute for the paper pulp that was used in the newspaper industry.^[30][33] These scholars believe that Hearst felt^[dubious…