5 - History of Drug Policy & War on Drugs (6.8.26)

PBSI 336:

Drugs & Behavior

Summer 2026

1.2. Introduction:Current drug use trends, history of drug policy

Professor: Morgan Paladinomsp@tamu.eduDepartment of Psychological & Brain Sciences

6.1.2026

Announcements + Today’s Agenda

• Exam policy change

• Exams will still have a time limit and 1-attempt limit, but they will not use a Lockdown browser.

• Slido poll

• Project Milestone 1 groups

• Introduction

• More on drug classifications
• What is addiction vs. physical dependence?

Summary

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Current drug use trends

• Drug use and abuse in U.S.
• Drug use among young people (college age, high school)

History of drug policy in U.S.

• Factors that shaped cultural attitudes
• Drugs and the law
• Drug policy 1970s-2000s
• The War on Drugs
• Past approach and outcomes
• Possible future approach

History of drug policy in U.S.

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The “War on Drugs” was launched by President Nixon in 1971. Drug abuse was “public enemy number one.” Across all branches and levels of government, incarceration was expanded:

• Increased prison time for lesser offenses.
• Increased time for violent crimes and repeat offenders.
• Drug crimes more severely policed and punished (particularly street dealing in urban areas).

Marijuana placed on Schedule I list.

War on Drugs – 1970s

81

By the time incarceration rates began to grow in the early 1970s, U.S. society had passed through a tumultuous period of social and political change -- providing the context for a series of policy choices.

National Research Council nap.edu/catalog/18613/the-growth-of-incarceration-in-the-united-states-exploring-causes

War on Drugs – 1970s

82

John Ehrlichman was counsel to Nixon (and Watergate co-conspirator). When interviewed by Dan Baum in 1994, Ehrlichman admitted the War on Drugs was targeted at the anti-war left and Black people.

harpers.org/archive/2016/04/legalize-it-all/

War on Drugs – 1980s

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• In the 1980s, the appearance of new drugs and increased potency of illegal drugs led to continuation of the U.S. government’s “War on Drugs.”
• Mandatory minimum prison sentences
• Increased penalties for possession
• Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign was paired with race-based media hysteria about crack cocaine (blending drug use, race, and violence).

• These anti-drug policies were supported by both Democrats and Republicans in the 80s and 90s (as part of tough-on-crime policies).

U.S. State and federal prison population

timeline.com/harry-anslinger-racist-war-on-drugs-prison-industrial-complex-fb5cbc281189

War on Drugs – 1980s

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Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986:

• Increased penalties for drug crimes, including marijuana.
• Created a big sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine:
• Same mandatory minimum sentence for crack as 100x the amount of powder cocaine.
• This sentencing disparity helped fuel racial disparities in incarceration.

War on Drugs – 1980-2000

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Over the next 20 years, drug-related incarceration rates multiplied > 10-fold. However, illegal drug use continued on a massive scale. America is the top consumer of illicit drugs.

Policies continued under Bush and Clinton, until Obama, who began pardoning or commuting drug offender sentences and approaching the opioid crisis as a public health issue.

Beck & Blumstein 2012; National Research Council nap.edu/catalog/18613/the-growth-of-incarceration-in-the-united-states-exploring-causes

War on Drugs – 1980-2000

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Black people White people

Intensified drug laws subjected Black people, more than White people, to higher rates of arrests and incarceration, despite lower levels of drug use and similar levels of trafficking. More than half the prison population is Black or Hispanic. Incarceration is strongly correlated with negative social and economic outcomes for former prisoners and their families.

Non-Hispanic White people Non-Hispanic Black people

Hispanic people

National Research Council nap.edu/catalog/18613/the-growth-of-incarceration-in-the-united-states-exploring-causes

War on Drugs – Outcomes

87

• U.S. penal population of 2.2 million adults is the largest in the world.
• 1 of every 100 adults is in prison or jail.
• U.S. accounts for ~5% of world’s population, but ~25% of prison population.

Average cost per U.S. federal inmate (2020): >$39,000/year Average cost per state inmate: >$45,000/year

National Research Council nap.edu/catalog/18613/the-growth-of-incarceration-in-the-united-states-exploring-causes

War on Drugs – Outcomes

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The vast expansion of the criminal justice system has created a large population limited by a criminal conviction: reduced access to public benefits, occupations, vocational licenses, and voting.

National Research Council nap.edu/catalog/18613/the-growth-of-incarceration-in-the-united-states-exploring-causes

War on Drugs – Outcomes

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1) Why do you think that the War on Drugs was launched at the time that it was?

New York Times Op-Ed youtu.be/Kk1ioyjMZZY

War on Drugs: Past approach

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• Many countries believe that the “war on drugs” cannot be won.
• 50 years later, the Drug War costs the U.S. $50 billion/year and has overcrowded prisons to the breaking point, with little impact on the drug trade.

• The past approach to the drug problem has been:
• Drugs are a criminal justice problem.
• Law enforcement
• Penalization

rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/how-america-lost-the-war-on-drugs-170965/ rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/why-america-cant-quit-the-drug-war-47203/

War on Drugs: Outcomes on prisons

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• U.S. penal population of 2.2 million adults is the largest in the world. 1/100 adults is incarcerated.
• U.S. accounts for ~5% of world’s population, but ~25% of prison population.
• Incarceration costs are high.

National Research Council, nap.edu/catalog/18613/the-growth-of-incarceration-in-the-united-states-exploring-causes

War on Drugs: Outcomes on minorities

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Black people White people

• Minorities and people of lower SES receive harsher penalties for drug offenses.
• Black people arrested and incarcerated at greater rates (and for longer sentences) than white people, despite lower levels of drug use and similar levels of trafficking.
• Incarceration is strongly correlated with negative social and economic outcomes for former prisoners and their families.

Non-Hispanic White people Non-Hispanic Black people

Hispanic people

National Research Council, nap.edu/catalog/18613/the-growth-of-incarceration-in-the-united-states-exploring-causes U.S. Sentencing Commission, https://www.ussc.gov/research/research-reports/2023-demographic-differences-federal-sentencing

War on Drugs: Outcomes video

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New York Times Op-Ed youtu.be/Kk1ioyjMZZY

War on Drugs: Future approach

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• The future approach to the drug problem could be:
• Drugs are a public health problem.
• Increased treatment and education
• Focus on harm reduction
• Decreased incarceration
• Reduced drug sentences for nonviolent offenders
• Decreased penalties for marijuana

• ~60% of Americans favor marijuana legalization for recreational use (even more for medical use).

Treatment and harm reduction

76

Treatment advantages

• The government estimates that for every $1 spent on drug treatment, $7 are saved.
• As compared to incarceration, treatment:
• is less expensive.
• reduces violent crime and recidivism.

Harm reduction strategies

• Safe-ride programs (to reduce DUI)
• Needle exchange programs
• Narcan availability
• Methadone maintenance programs
• Safer injection facilities (decrease infection, increase access to services)
• Education to public: Dispel myths that these strategies facilitate substance use. Harm reduction services are cost effective and save money.

https://www.nationalacademies.org/projects/HMD-HSP-23-20/about

War on Drugs

90

• Many consider the “War on Drugs” a failed policy.
• 50 years later, the Drug War costs $50 billion/year and has overcrowded prisons to the breaking point, with little impact on the drug trade, but large impacts on Black/Hispanic communities.

• The past approach to the drug problem has been:
• Drugs are a criminal justice problem.
• Law enforcement
• Penalization

• How should we approach the drug problem in the future?

rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/how-america-lost-the-war-on-drugs-170965/ rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/why-america-cant-quit-the-drug-war-47203/

War on Drugs – The Future

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• Research shows what doesn’t work.
• But, the tragedy of the War on Drugs is that this knowledge/science has had little influence on the nation’s drug policy.

• We continue to:
• treat marijuana as a major threat to public health, even though it isn’t.
• lock up generations of teenage drug dealers, even though imprisonment does little to reduce the amount of drugs sold on the street.
• spend billions to fight drugs abroad, even though military efforts are ineffective at reducing the supply of drugs in America.
• run anti-drug ads, even though they do little to prevent teens from trying pot.

rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/how-america-lost-the-war-on-drugs-170965/ rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/why-america-cant-quit-the-drug-war-47203/

War on Drugs – The Future

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• Research also shows what works: Treatment programs
• The government estimates that for every $1 spent on drug treatment, $7 are saved.
• Yet, treatment and prevention get only 45% of the federal drug budget, while enforcement and interdiction get 55% (not including the huge costs of incarceration).

harpers.org/archive/2016/04/legalize-it-all/

War on Drugs – The Future

93

• The future approach to the drug problem might be:
• Drugs are a public health problem.
• Increased treatment availability
• Focus on education and prevention
• Reduced drug sentences
• Legalization of marijuana
• Harm reduction (syringe programs, Narcan availability, fentanyl test strips)

• 60% of Americans favor marijuana legalization for recreational purposes (including 47% of Republicans).

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Thanks for listening!

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