Drugs During The 70's Essay

Drugs were used as a means to escape reality. Drug use was already running rampant in the ghettos but was minimal among middle class white youth. Music helped popularize the use of drugs on college campuses.10 The use of marijuana peaked in 1967 with the release of the Beatles "Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band" whose cover has marijuana leaves on it.11 The use of drugs by mainstream teens can be compared to the way a society accepts a new type of music or a new hairstyle. Using drugs was

In the beginning of the documentary, The House I Live In, President Nixon gives a speech declaring, “America’s public enemy number one in the United States is drug abuse. In order to fight and defeat this enemy, it is necessary to wage a new, all-out offensive” In 1971, this speech made Preside Nixon the first president to ever declare a “war on drugs” in America. He fought by battling, both the supply and demand for drugs. Karst J. Besteman (1989) describes this “war” as a “strong initiative against drug dealers and expansion of drug treatment facilities” (p. 290). The beginning of Nixon’s “war” was focused on providing treatment and rehabilitation, after the creation of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) in 1973, the focal point of the

To start, a little history behind the drug war. During Nixon’s campaign in 1968 and his presidency thereafter, there were two threats to Nixon at the time. One was the anti-war leftists and the other was black people. The reason is, during the war with Vietnam, the anti-war leftists, or also known as the hippies, would protest often in Washington.

On June 17th 1971, President Richard Nixon stood in front of congress and announced his widely criticized War on Drugs. The President claimed that drugs were the “Public Enemy Number One” among Americans. Fast-forward to 1986, Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. This act placed mandatory minimum sentences on minor drug infractions. The war on drugs not only incarcerated a very high number of Blacks, but also tore families apart in an effort to clean up neighborhoods which still affect many African American families almost a half-century later.

Richard Nixon made it his goal to focus on treatment, rather than criminal punishment. It was not until the Reagan Era that the dynamics of the war on drugs would change, for

During the 1960’s drugs became a symbol of “youthful rebellion, social upheaval, and political dissent”, the government quickly stepped into action and by June 1971, President Nixon declared a “war on drugs”. The size and presence of federal drug control agencies and drastic measures such as mandatory sentencing and no-knock warrants. Marijuana was placed under the most restrictive category of drugs and the war on drugs was underway (A Brief History of the Drug War, Bureau of Justice Statistics).

The War on Drugs began in increments, first with President Nixon and secondly with President Reagan (Hill, Oliver, Marion, 2012). While under the Nixon administration, the Drug Enforcement Administration was developed due to the thought of how drugs can affect an individual as well as a community. Drugs did not only affect the user and the community, but also the families as well as children. Out of all the presidents, it is documented that President Nixon was one who had discussions about drugs more than any other president (Hill, et al., 2012).

In the year 1971, President Richard Nixon was convinced that America’s number one enemy was drug abuse. As a result, in that year he declared war on drugs, there was a punishment for not only supplying drugs but purchasing them as well. Nixon believed America would be a more effective and prosperous country if it were completely drug free. The war on drugs was really a convenient cover for the undeclared war on race. There were several consequences and negative effects for African Americans due to the “war”, more extensive drug regulations, over-policing, driving while black, drug sweeps, and finally no warrants when searching and seizing. More than half of the people in

“The War on Drugs” was declared by Richard Nixon on June 17, 1971. Nixon described substance abuse as “public enemy number one of the United States.” The Nixon administration went further on to create the Special Action for Drug Abuse Prevention (SAODAP) and the Office of Drug Abuse Law (ODALE), in addition to other programs the Reagan administration put in place. These programs created a “super agency” known today as the Drug Enforcement Administration. These particular programs enabled the government to target those of a lower class and those who were colored. This brings several questions to the forefront, like was the DEA established to keep those of lower status, those of color incarcerated as a new form of Jim Crow? Little attention has

In the late 1960’s early 70’s President Nixon found himself faced with high crime, the expensive, highly unpopular Vietnam War, and immense poverty in inner cities. The Nixon administration saw these things and found that a commonality with them was drugs. So, on June 17, 1971, President Nixon gave a Special Message to the Congress on Drug Abuse Prevention and Control. In the address, Nixon Stated:

Laws were established, and plans were occurred in order to eliminate American citizens from obtaining and using drugs, additionally to stop other countries from manufacturing, transporting these drugs across borders into the United States and selling/distributing them. After countless failed attempts, it was determined by Nixon that the supply for drugs existed due to the large demand and the suppliers would find anyway to succeed. Unfortunately Nixon did not act according to this understanding. Following this, Nixon launched numerous attempts to go into Mexico and eliminate the supply side of the drug war. He quickly learned that eliminating one route used by drug traffickers only resulted in them opening another route to continue their

The War on Drugs ruined the lives of many people, wasted billions of taxpayer dollars, and especially targeted people of color. The war originally attacked poor communities of color with heroin and cocaine laws (War). After President Nixon, Ronald Reagan re-launched the war of drugs in 1982 by “ increasing anti-drug enforcement spending, creating a federal drug task force, and helping to foster a culture that demonized drug use and drug users” (Cooper). Cooper found

President Richard Nixon initiated the War on Drugs in 1971. At that time, America was leaving a tumultuous decade where young americans challenged the status quo, leading social movements that effected the very fabric of our country. Nixon, a strict conservative, was not a fan of these people disrupting the system and went after them. Tom LoBianco, reporter for CNN Politics, quotes former domestic policy chief John Ehrlichman who stated “The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people.” Unfortunately, this was not the first time drug laws were used to discriminate certain groups of people, especially minorities. Drug consumption has been around since humans discovered mind altering

Cocaine Hydrochloride in the early 20th century was used in many ways. Some may say that small doses were added to the drink Coca Cola, that’s where the name come from. I feel as if this is true because Coca Cola is slightly addictive. The original formula of coca cola did have 25mg of cocaine per 100ml of drink. That formula was used as a stimulant for headaches. Cocaine Hydrochloride was an ingredient in patent medicines, tonics, elixirs, and fluid extracts. With the right amount it could save and cure you but if you were given more than needed you would get addicted. Doctors knew what would happen to a patient if they were given to much therefore they created something called the Harrison Narcotic Act of 1914.

The 1960s were infamous for illegal drug use; hippies smoked marijuana, people in the ghettos used heroin, it seemed as if everyone was doing drugs. As the newly elected president, John F. Kennedy had high hopes in solving many of the nation’s problems. Many Americans saw themselves standing on the rise of a golden age at the start of the decade. However, the 1960s became an era of political unrest, and it seemed the country was falling apart by the end of the decade. The utilization of drugs became part of the counterculture and social uprising. Drug usage during the 1960s contributed to the turmoil of the era due to the ease of access, the motivation for usage, and the prevalence of it in the counterculture.