The Drug Enforcement Administration

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Origin of the Agency

The Drug Enforcement Administration has a long history that marks its significance and succession. Much had been going on during the late nineteen-sixties and early seventies that shaped the years between such as: the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., the Hippie movement, the closing days of the Vietnam War, the disbandment of the Beatles, Woodstock, the first man on the moon, and the beginning of the Watergate scandal (to name a few). President Richard Nixon took office in 1968, a time which was prevalent for ending the war in Vietnam and the violence across the United States due to anti-war and race riots.

Before the Drug Enforcement Administration was enacted, issues that dealt with drugs were handled by different federal agencies rather than one agency as it is set up presently. “Federal drug law enforcement began in 1915 with the Bureau of Internal Revenue” (“Drug Enforcement Administration” 4). Illegal drug use has always been an issue and continues to increase and remain to be a prevailing problem across the nation. The 1960’s marked the predominant era for the increase of drug use. This was a time where the hippie-marijuana movement manifested, organized crime mobs were overt and famous psychologist and writer Timothy Leary was advocating for psychedelic drugs. During his Presidency, Richard Nixon felt it necessary to instill a more effective approach in dealing with the increasing drug problem in order to protect America from violence and to “restore law and order” as he would say was his goal and slogan for his campaign in the 1968 Presidential election. Prior to the creation of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), drug control was being regulated under the Bureau of Narcotics and Da...

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.... 2011. .

“Drug Enforcement Administration 1970-1975.” The United States Drug Enforcement Admininstration. The United States Drug Enforcement Admininstration, n.d. Web. 4 Dec. 2011. .

“MICHELE M. LEONHART DEA Administrator Drug Enforcement Administration U.S. Department of Justice.” United States Drug Enforcement Administration. United States Drug Enforcement Administration, n.d. Web. 6 Dec. 2011. .

“An Overview of Federal Drug Control Programs on the Southwest Border Drug Enforcement Administration.” Publications Office of National Drug Control Policy . US Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs, 30 Nov. 2011. Web. 6 Dec. 2011. .

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