War on Drugs

The War on Drugs is an initiative undertaken in the United States to carry out an "all-out offensive" (as President Nixon described it) against the non-medical use of certain prohibited drugs.

Related Topics:
United States - President Nixon - Prohibited drug

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The Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress noted in a 2003 report that the nation's war on drugs could be considered to have started in public policy dating to November 1880, when the U.S. and China completed an agreement which prohibited the shipment of opium between the two countries. By February 1887, the 49th Congress enacted legislation making it a misdemeanor for any citizen of either country found guilty of violating this ban.

Related Topics:
Congressional Research Service - Library of Congress - Public policy - 1880 - China - Prohibited - Opium - 49th Congress

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Around the turn of the 20th century, a perception of widespread abuse of cocaine caused policy-makers in the U.S. to consider drug abuse a serious public problem rather than as cases of personal failures.

Related Topics:
20th century - Cocaine - Drug abuse

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Nixon's modern-day "War on Drugs" began in 1971. He created the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) to combat drug abuse, which he characterized as "America's public enemy number one." Nixon's new initiative was another milestone for the U.S. in the consideration of drug addiction as a public problem.

Related Topics:
1971 - Office of National Drug Control Policy

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For U.S. public policy purposes, drug abuse is any illegal use of a substance in order to alter mood or behavior. The definition includes legal pharmaceuticals if they are obtained by illegal means or used for nonmedicinal purposes.

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One public policy problem with drug abuse is the economic cost. The ONDCP estimated that the cost in 2000 was over $160 billion, with losses in productivity due to incarceration, crime, drug-related illness, and other reasons accounting for over two-thirds of that amount. That figure represents 1.6% of that year's estimated gross domestic product.

Related Topics:
Incarceration - Crime - Gross domestic product

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