Reagan War On Drugs Essay

Sky Ward
H. U.S. History 2A
Pittman

Reagan’s War on Drugs

In June of 1971, Nixon first declared a “War on Drugs”. By the time Reagan left office in 89, the War on Drugs defined a presidency and the way of life in America for generations to come. According to Nixon, drug abuse was “public enemy number one”. This sentiment was seemingly taken to an extreme by the Reagan administration, with the Just Say No campaign of 1984, the 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act, and the 1994 Violent crime act. There are many different perspectives regarding the true intentions and success of the War on Drugs. However, the War on Drugs was a success to the Reagan administration because it achieved the intended consequences of the mass incarceration of marginalized

They're threatening our values and undercutting our institutions.”. However, if Reagan truly intended to end the drug crisis, he wouldn’t have drastically cut funding to actual solutions, even if he did believe that a stronger police force was a liable solution. As seen in Michael Letwin’s article; “ The government has evicted 200 men from a homeless shelter to make room for more female jail inmates. The government has also suggested cuts to the Fire Department, sanitation, foster care workers, drug treatment for children, home-care services for those with AIDS, child care, job training, libraries, schools, and parks and recreation. The state has also cut plans for drug treatment.”. This is corroborated on a federal level by the percentage of federal anti-drug budget for prevention and treatment from 1970 to 2000. This data shows that when Reagan took office in 1981, funding for drug-use prevention and treatment plummeted from 57% to 28%, and stayed there until 1990, where it increased slightly to 32%. This data was initially published by the National Drug Control Strategy, a bipartisan government organization that's purpose is to outline the country’s efforts to reduce illicit drug use and its consequences in the United

(1986, September 14). President Ronald Reagan speaks to the nation about the campaign against drug use. Incarceration over time [image]: Based on an analysis of Bureau of Justice Statistics data: 2000–2015 , 1990–97 1850–1984: Medium.com: https://medium.com/@dan_nott/what-is-mass-incarceration-ff737196580
Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. New Press, 2010.
Letwin, Michael. Hofstra Law Review, Policing in NY Report - Hofstra Law Review.
Normet, Lynn. “Congressman Charles Rangel of Harlem, Front-Line General in War on Drugs.” Ebony Magazine, Mar. 1989.
“Percentage of Federal Anti-Drug Budget for Prevention and Treatment | Frontline.” PBS, www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/charts/chart8.html. Accessed 10 May