The "War on Drugs" isn't just a catchy phrase—it's a decades-long U.S. policy framework that has reshaped law enforcement, incarceration, foreign relations, and public health. Officially launched in 1971, its roots go deeper, tied to racism, moral panics, and political strategy. It's cost over $1 trillion, filled prisons, fueled international violence, and failed to reduce drug use or availability. Let's trace it chronologically, with the key players, policies, and turning points.

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Early Roots: Racism and Early Prohibition (Late 1800s–1960s)

Drug criminalization in America began not with public health concerns but with xenophobia:

• 1870s–1900s: Opium dens banned in San Francisco (1875) and federal laws (1909) targeted Chinese immigrants.

• 1910s: Cocaine linked to Black Americans in sensational media; southern states banned it fearing "superhuman strength" in Black users.

• 1930s: Marijuana (called "marihuana" to sound Mexican) demonized amid Great Depression job fears; Harry Anslinger’s Federal Bureau of Narcotics pushed the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act.

These early laws set the pattern: drugs associated with minorities were criminalized harshly.

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Nixon Era: The Official Launch (1969–1974)

President Richard Nixon coined the term in June 1971, calling drug abuse "public enemy number one." Key moves:

• Created the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in 1973.

• Passed the Controlled Substances Act (1970), scheduling drugs (Schedule I: high abuse, no medical use—includes heroin, LSD, marijuana).

• Increased federal funding for enforcement.

Nixon aide John Ehrlichman later admitted (1994 interview, published 2016): The war targeted "the antiwar left and black people" by associating hippies with marijuana and Black communities with heroin, allowing disruption without outlawing protest or race.

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Reagan Escalation: Moral Panic and Mass Incarceration (1981–1989)

Ronald Reagan (with Nancy's "Just Say No" campaign) supercharged it:

• 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act: $1.7 billion funding; infamous 100:1 crack vs. powder cocaine sentencing disparity (5g crack = 5 years; 500g powder = same). Crack (urban, often Black users) punished far harsher.

• Militarized enforcement: FBI/DEA budgets exploded; SWAT raids for drugs surged.

Incarceration for drugs jumped from ~50,000 (1980) to 400,000 by 1997.

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Bush Sr. and Clinton: Peak Tough-on-Crime (1989–2001)

George H.W. Bush: Continued militarization; focused on cartels. Bill Clinton: 1994 Crime Bill expanded prisons, "three strikes" laws, more police funding. Rejected reducing crack/powder disparity. U.S. prison population peaked; drug arrests disproportionately hit Black and Latino communities (Black Americans ~14% of users but 35–56% of drug incarcerations).

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Bush Jr. and Obama: Mixed Signals (2001–2017)

George W. Bush: 40,000+ annual paramilitary drug raids; overdose deaths rose. Barack Obama: Reduced crack/powder disparity (2010 Fair Sentencing Act: 100:1 → 18:1); memo not to prosecute state-legal marijuana; pardoned some offenders. But deportations and enforcement continued.

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Trump and Biden: Reform Amid Overdose Crisis (2017–Present)

Donald Trump: First Step Act (2018) reduced some sentences; opioid focus but rhetoric tough. Joe Biden: Pardoned thousands for simple marijuana possession (2022); supported rescheduling marijuana (Schedule III, 2024–2025 ongoing). Overdose deaths hit records (~110,000/year); shift toward harm reduction.

As of late 2025, public support for ending the "war" is high (~66–83% say it failed); many states legalized cannabis; Oregon briefly decriminalized all drugs (2021, partially rolled back).

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The Legacy: Failure on Every Metric

• Drug use rates stable or rising.

• Mass incarceration: U.S. has ~25% of world's prisoners, many for nonviolent drugs.

• Racial disparities: Black Americans incarcerated for drugs at 5–10x white rates despite similar use.

• Overdoses: Fentanyl-driven crisis killed more than Vietnam War.

• International: Fueled cartels, violence in Mexico/Colombia.

The war succeeded politically (tough-on-crime votes) but failed as policy.