the war on drugs Flashcards
medical addiction vs street use
-medicial addiction: use It from suffering from pain
- street use: use it bc they like the effects from how it makes their body feel
Harrison narcotics act 1914
-first law to regulate drugs
vietnam war & methadone clinics
-reports of marijuana use Among U.S soldiers led to a crackdown and many switched to heroin
-politics of addicted GLs helped open the door for methadone treatment
nixon, carter, Reagan, H.W Bush
-Nixon: campaigned on law and order platform, citing drugs as a major threat to American youths. declared drugs as America’s number-one enemy
-Carter: supported harm reduction and marijuana decriminalization (reduced penalties for posing small amounts of Mary Jane)
- Reagan: expanded drug control budget and reintroduced mandatory minimum sentencing and penalties to illegal drugs
- H.W Bush: established a national drug control and escalated the war on drugs
the drug enforcement agency (DEA)
- Nixon Administration consolidated federal drug enforcement under the DEA in 1973 and expanded the budget of law enforcement which reserved federal funds for state and municipal police
police corruption (NYPD, etc)
-allowed police to seize assets derived from illegal drugs and property used to transport, sell, or manufacture drugs, even if no criminal conviction results
the Medellin cartel (Pablo Escobar)
- became the world’s largest cocaine supplier
-used bribery and intimidation to evade law enforcement ; assassinated judges, journalists and even politicians who threatened their interest
the crack scare & discriminatory penalties
-media spread fears of crack cocaine becoming a nationwide drug epidemic
-crack was largely used in the inner cities of black and Latino communities which led to myths about crack babies
-incarceration for nonviolent drug offenses rose from 50,000 to over 400,000 of african americans
mass incarceration and the war on drugs
- drug arrests account for 2/3rds of the rise in federal prison populations
-prison sentencing increased four folds between 1980 and 2000
-harsh sentencing like three strike laws compelled defendants to make plea bargains even thought they were innocent
harm reduction
ideas aimed at reducing negative consequences associated with drug use
when did the war on drugs begin and under what presidential administration? In what ways did subsequent presidential administrations either rein in or escalate the drug war?
War on drugs began in the 1970s under Nixon’s presidential administration. Subsequent presidential administration escalated the drug war in many ways: made harsher drug laws * expanded military enforcement, mandatory minimum sentencing, and supported harm reduction.
given that opiates, cocaine, marijuana, and other drugs were already illegal in the u.s and much of the wider world, how (or to what extent) did prohibition change with the war on drugs?
Prohibition changed to a great extent with the war on drugs by making stricter drug control (scheduling, enforcement, and treatment).
what was the main drug abuse that concerned many Americans in the 1970s? what was the most concerning drug abuse in the 1980s?
The main drug abuse that concerned many Americans in the 19070s was marijuana. The most concerning drug abuse in the 1980s was cocaine.
where and how was cocaine being smuggled into the U.S in the 1980s?
Cocaine was being smuggled into the U.S in Miami in the 1980s. You had cartel leaders using bribery and intimidation to smuggle drugs into the U.S.
What impact did the war on drugs have internationally?
The war on drugs had a negative impact internationally by increasing restrictions on certain drugs (drug scheduling) and criminal violence (cartels vs police officers).
