The Federal Government, Drug War, and DEA

The Federal Government, Drug War, and DEA

The Federal Government's drug war, or "War on Drugs", was initially launched by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics in 1914 under the United States Treasury after the passing of the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act. 

Prohibition didn't come until 1920. With the Federal Government's approval the drug war was waged on the tax-payer's dime. Support was largely drummed up by anti-Bolshevist and anti-Communist sentiment following the first and second world wars. 

Later the Federal Government decided that the Federal Bureau of Narcotics was not enough and merged it alongside the Office of Drug Abuse Law Enforcement (ODALE) in order to make the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). 

The Federal Government, under Nixon, established the DEA due to the growing availability of Narcotics during and after the Vietnam War.

United States Drug Enforcement Administration

Nixon feared the spread of Communism and feared the narcotics being pushed from Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and other Communist nations would end up causing the American public to become sedate and unresponsive to the looming threat of Communism. 

Hastily, Nixon drew up several plans to fight the drug war and ended up creating the DEA.

"The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice, tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the United States. Not only is the DEA the lead agency for domestic enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act, sharing concurrent jurisdiction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation(FBI) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), it also has sole responsibility for coordinating and pursuing U.S. drug investigations abroad."

- Wikipedia, "Drug Enforcement Administration."

And so, the drug war was launched into its modern phase which exists to this day.