Richard Nixon War On Drugs

After decades of bombed efforts, the War on Drugs has failed to effectively address substance abuse issues. Instead, it perpetuates cycles of violence, disproportionately affecting marginalized communities and fueling mass incarceration. This shines a light on the urgent need for alternative approaches focused on harm reduction, rehabilitation, and addressing root socioeconomic factors. As influenced by successive U.S. presidents, the War on Drugs reflects a complex relationship of policies shaped by political agendas, societal insights, and economic interests. Each administration has made a contribution, knowingly or unknowingly, to the evolution of drug enforcement strategies. This ranges from Nixon's 'War on Drugs' to Obama's emphasis on …show more content…
With acts such as the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 (ADAA), things have not progressed significantly better. The question is, how did this start, and how long has it lasted? The War on Drugs is dated to when Richard Nixon took over the Oval Office. Nixon viewed drugs as a "serious national threat." He said drugs were "public enemy number one." With those words, that is what started the War on Drugs. "The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people". Nixon's plan was to target his enemies, in this case, African Americans. The goal was to make this war legal. This was all an elaborate and racially motivated scheme to expel the Black community back to a form of the Jim Crow era to try and initiate complete and utter control over the race as a whole in America. Nixon enforced many policies that had demoralizing effects. Under his administration, he created the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The DEA was formed when Nixon passed the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act in …show more content…
A lesser-known version of this Act also affected the Latin American community. A pilot project used computers to connect forces with federal immigration agents in four cities. The objective was to make it simpler to extradite noncitizens accused of violating drug laws. Over time, this ballooned, and eventually started deporting immigrants for more than just drug charges. Later, politicians and the public started having negative propaganda being shown about mostly Cuban immigrants, creating a hostile feeling towards them. 2006 the Criminal Alien Program was implemented, which is very similar to the ADAA. This program just incited racial profiling amongst immigrants, who have tried calling an end to this program. To somewhat defend Ronald Reagan, his wife, Nancy Reagan, tried to make her campaign of 'Just Say No' the main outline for the Drug War. That outreach did help teach a lot of young Americans that drugs for young kids are not something that should be taken. Even though the end goal was scattered and tainted throughout the process, the initial plan was good. There are still Drug Prevention Campaigns going on in schools, too, thanks to Ronald

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