In: Economics
war on drugs
The war on drugs is an effort led by the US government, of drug prohibition, military aid and military intervention, with the aim to reduce the illegal use of drug in the US. The campaign includes a set of drug policies that are meant for discouraging the production, distribution and consumption of illegal drugs.
The War on Drugs started in June 1971 when US president Richard
Nixon announced drug abuse to be "public's big enemy" and raised
federal funding for drug-control agencies and drug treatment
efforts.
During the presidency of Ronald Reagan, the movement against the
drug abuse continue to take its expanded form. In 1984, Reagan's
wife, Nancy started another campaign against drug abuse with a
simple statement "Just Say No". This was a privately funded effort
to educate school children on the bad impacts of illegal drug use.
In 1986, the US Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act with an
allocation of $1.7 billion to the War on Drugs and announced a
series of compulsory minimum prison sentences for different kinds
of drug offences.