U.S.+War+on+Drugs_Mackland+and+Tommy


 * //War on Drugs // **toc

Tommy Hoopes Mackland Steele

 1) What historical forces led to the rise of the movement? 2) Who were the major figures involved in the movement?  3) What methods/tactics were used to lead the movement?  4) Was/Is the movement successful in achieving its goals

Overview
= = In 1971 Richard Nixon declared the United States War on Drugs, sparking the evolution of a 40 year movement that has cost the U.S. nearly $2.5 trillion. Even in the face of ad campaigns, massively increased incarceration rates, and huge crackdowns on narco-trafficking, the number of illicit drug users has risen over the nearly four decades since the War on Drugs was launched to 19.9 million Americans. In 1971, the federal budget for the war on drugs was $101 million; today that figure has risen to $20 billion with the actual cost being nearly $40 billion annually in recent years, and the yearly cost to tax payers for the war is $50 billion. There are currently over 500,000 non-violent drug offenders living behind bars in the U.S.

Historical Forces/Causes

 * In the early 20th century, laws were put in place to ban substances such as cocaine and opium, and even though the laws were broken by organized crime, the use of illegal drugs was very limited. The late 1960s and early 1970s changed this restricted and subdued use of drugs forever. Unbridled use of drugs by young people swept the nation at the same time a tidal wave of heroin use flooded through the country, stemming from southeast Asia. This was made possible by military and political alliances between CIA media type="youtube" key="bsrxpVUKUK0" height="364" width="445" align="right" and warlords that were recruited to fight covert anticommunist campaigns in Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Burma during the Vietnam War. During the war, U.S. soldiers were forming an addiction to the drugs present in Southeast Asia, which concerned the government deeply.
 *  To get funds for organized covert warfare, the CIA allowed its partners to sell large quantities of drugs--much of which came to the U.S.--causing corruption among individual agents, Saigon government officials, and actions taken by Corsican mafia in Marseilles, France, to profit from heroin. The drugs that made their way to the U.S. made Americans addicted and reliable buyers.
 *  The Sicilian mafia, feeling the pressure of competition, increased its drug operations. They smuggled heroin from anticommunist guerillas in Afghanistan, who were supported by the U.S. The CIA "looked the other way" when anticommunist warlords sold large quantities of drugs to fund their operations. The drugs needed outlets and this resulted in huge organized crime operations selling drugs on a massive scale on the streets of the U.S.
 *  Because of this huge increase in illegal drugs making their way to the U.S., Nixon felt as though he had to initiate a program, which ended up being a declaration of a war on drugs, in order to fight and wipe out this growing issue.

Major Figures Involved in the Movement
[|http://www.npr.org/programs/atc/features/2007/apr/drugwars/map/]

<span style="color: #123e0f; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 190%;">Presidents
====//<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 150%;">Johnson //==== ====//<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 150%;">Nixon //==== ====//<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 150%;">Ford //==== ====//<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 150%;">Carter //==== ====//<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 150%;">Reagan //==== ====//<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 150%;">H.W. Bush //==== ====//<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 150%;">Clinton //==== ====//<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 150%;">W. Bush //====
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">1968: Founded Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">1972: The Office of Drug Abuse Law Enforcement--Myles Ambrose appointed as director. Purpose was to fight drug use on the street level.
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">1973: Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)--Super agency to handle all drug problems: John R. Bartels appointed as director.
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">1975: White Paper on Drug Abuse--ranks drugs by priority to target (marijuana is a low priority drug compared to heroin, amphetamines, and cocaine)
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">Pushed for decriminalization of marijuana.
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">Drug czar did not believe that marijuana or even cocaine was a serious public health threat.
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">1982: South Florida Drug Task Force--combines agents from DEA, Customs, FBI, ATF, IRS, Army, and Navy to mobilize against drug traffickers.
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">Set up other regional task forces throughout the country to combat drug trafficking.
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">1986: Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986--$1.7 billion to fight the War on Drugs; Sets mandatory minimum penalties for drug offenses.
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">1989: Office of National Drug Control Policy--drug czar, William Bennett campaigned to make drug abuse socially unacceptable.
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">1990: Proposal of addition of $1.2 billion to budget for the war on drugs including a 50% increase on military funding.
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">1993: North American Free Trade Agreement is passed and signed--enormous increase in legal trade, which allows illegal narcotics to be hidden more effectively in the massive volume of legal products. This makes it much more difficult for U.S. Customs officials to find the illegal drugs. '
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">2000: Clinton provides $1.3 billion and 60 combat helicopters to the Colombian military to aid in Colombia's $7.5 billion Plan Colombia.
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">2003: 3-year, $600 million drug addiction treatment plan.
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">2004: Added $23 million to the budget for drug-testing in schools.

<span style="color: #123e0f; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 190%;">Nancy Reagan

 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">In the Reagan term there was a milestone that started a different way to reach out to the drug abuser primarily teenagers in school who are faced with a hard decision. Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" campaign started in 1982 and might have not been the best way to deal with the decision, but it started many programs to educate young teenagers and set up programs like above the influence and intervention that you use cable to try and reach out to kids to show the other side of drugs in a way that kids can relate to.
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">The phrase "Just Say No" first emerged when Nancy Reagan was visiting Longfellow Elementary School in Oakland, California in 1982 and was asked by a schoolgirl what to do if she was offered drugs. The first lady responded by saying, "Just say no." Just Say No club organizations within schools and school-run anti-drug programs soon became common, in which young people make pacts not to experiment with drugs.
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">Drug use and abuse significantly declined during the Reagan presidency. More young people in the 1980s were saying no to drugs. High school seniors using marijuana dropped from 50.1% in 1978 to 36% in 1987, to 12% in 1991 and the percentage of students using other drugs decreased similarly. Psychedelic drug use dropped from 11% to 6%, cocaine from 12% to 10%, and heroin from 1% to 0.5%.

media type="youtube" key="wt-NfhAJc3g" height="315" width="392"

<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 150%;">//Medellin Cartel//
//<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 170%;"> Cali Cartel //
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">The Medellin cartel rose in 1981-1982 from the alliance between the Ochoa family, Pablo Escobar, and Jose Gonzalo Rodriguez Gacha, and Carlos Lehder. The traffickers cooperated in the manufacture, distribution, and marketing of their cocaine, and when Marta Ochoa (sister of the Ochoa brothers) was kidnapped by Colombian Guerrillas, the alliance was finalized with the formation of MAS, a Spanish acronym for "D media type="youtube" key="sA2Zds9Ay7M" height="286" width="353" align="right"<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">eath to Kidnappers". Marta Ochoa was released several months later without any harm due to the formation of this alliance.
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">At first the drug operations were carried out on foot by transporting the drugs in suitcases, but Lehder did not believe this was a very efficient way of distribution. He suggested that the cartel fly small airplanes to transport the drugs to avoid the need for countless suitcase trips. The large quantities and growing need for cocaine in the U.S. led to huge revenues for the cartel. With this money they invested in more sophisticated labs, better airplanes, and even a small island in the Caribbean for the refueling of the planes.
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">Escobar's violent personality in his quest for a large amount of power in the Colombian government led to a standoff between the cartel and the government. Pablo is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of hundreds of government officials, police, prosecutors, judges, journalists, and innocent bystanders.
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">The cartel fell as the violence intensified. Rodriguez Gacha was shot down by the Colombian police. The Ochoa brothers turned themselves in to the Colombian government in the early 1990s, and Escobar was hunted down and killed by the Colombian police after a long series of battles.
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">The Cali cartel was one of the reasons for the downfall of the Medellin cartel. Formed by the Rodriguez Orejuela brothers and Santacruz Lodono, the Cali cartel was less flashy and more subtle than their rivals at the Medellin cartel. As the compet[[image:map.gif align="right" caption="Major Narco Trafficking Routes and Crop Areas (CIA, 2000)"]]ition between the cartels escalated, so did the violence.
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">The men from Cali targeted Pablo Escobar specifically. They secretly gave information regarding Escobar to the Colombian police and the DEA. By 1994, when Escobar was running for his life, The Cali cartel had increased their dominance in the cocaine trade considerably.
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">The cartel thrived among the use of terrorist techniques of splitting up their workers into cells, hiring top lawyers to study the actions of the DEA and U.S. prosecutors, and hiring excellent engineers to design communications that could no be bugged.
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">As the cocaine use in the U.S. began to drop, the cartel increased their trade in Europe and Asia.
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">The Cali leaders made alliances with the former president of Colombia, Ernesto Samper and hundreds of Congressman and Senators for political protection
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">The leaders were eventually found and arrested in the mid 1990s and are currently serving prison terms. The DEA believes they are still running their drug empire from their prison cells.

<span style="color: #1e5252; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 200%;">Methods and Tactics
<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">Since the war on drugs began the different presidents have tried many different methods in their approach to the drug war. President Carter tried to remove federal criminal penalties for small amounts of marijuana. Reagan tried to increase funds for anti-drug efforts. In the earlier times of the drug war, most stress was placed on targeting the drug traffickers and ending the selling once and for all. As the drug war was drawn out over forty years, the methods changed to increasing funding for education about drugs and treatment for those who were addicted. The present day war continues treatment media type="custom" key="6308465" width="280" height="280" align="right" <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">programs and is also focused on law enforcement and stopping the drug flow into the U.S.


 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">In 1986, the U.S. government implemented a system called the "drug certification process". In this system, the U.S. judges other countries' anti-drug efforts. If the country is not deemed "certified", several forms of aid from the U.S. are withheld from that country until they cooperate in the war on drugs and are considered certified by the U.S.
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">De-certified countries are severely cut off from U.S. financial aid and the U.S. automatically votes against loans to de-certified countries. The President can also impose trade sanctions on that country.
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">The U.S. has tried to reduce demand for drugs through treatment involving rehabilitation centers that treat drug use as a medical/mental issue and not a criminal one. Law enforcement is used to treat the problem as a criminal matter though.
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">Reduction of the supply of drugs has also been a primary method used. Eradication to reduce production and interdiction to reduce the flow of drugs into the U.S. through stricter border control are the main ways to reduce the drug supply.
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">Tens of billions of dollars are spent every year for the movement to increase funding for treatment programs as well as in aid to countries such as Mexico to help solve the problem at its source.



<span style="color: #1e5252; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 200%;">Success of the Movement
<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25px;">Over the last four decades, policies of drug control can be broken down into two periods: the first, from 1960 to 1980 - a period of permissive drug laws; the second, from 1980 to present - a period of tougher drug laws. During the permissive years, drug crime incarceration rates fell almost 80 percent. In contrast, during the period of tough drug laws, drug incarceration rates rose almost 450 percent. These two periods had far different consequences. During the permissive years, drug use among teens climbed by more than 500 percent. During the tougher years, drug use by teen students decreased by more than a third. > George H.W. Bush's war on drugs did produce results. The biggest success was the 22% decrease in cocaine use.
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">In the U.S., drug control has been a success in some areas such as reduction in casual use, chronic use and addiction, and it has prevented the initiation of drugs. Drug use has decreased by more than 33% since the 1970s when the drug war started, meaning that 9.5 million fewer people use illegal drugs. Cocaine use alone has reduced by an astounding 70% resulting in 4.1 million fewer people using cocaine.
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">The war on drugs, however, did nothing to halt drug usage among the poor. Actually, the opposite happened. Poor people used more cocaine, heroin, and crack by 1992 than when the war on drugs began. One million people still smoked crack by the end of the Bush administration. The crime rate increased during the war on drugs. Drug use did not decline, and the murder rate remained the same.
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">There are so many mixed views regarding the success of the war on drugs and such a massive amount of approximated statistics that it is very difficult to say whether the U.S. is winning the drug war or losing. At times we may be making progress, while at other times we may be losing very badly. Most Americans don't feel that the drug war has done anything. Most Americans actually believe we are losing the war, and some do not even consider it a war at all.

<span style="color: #1e5252; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 200%;">Statistics of the War on Drugs
<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">This chart shows the number of arrests made in the U.S. by the Drug Enforcement agency over the last 23 years. The number of arrests increased dramatically until 1999 and then started to decrease and level off until 2009 when arrests increased once more. The graph at the bottom of the chart shows the rate of incarceration for drug offenses, which has increased tremendously since the war on drugs was declared.


 * ~ <span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**DEA Arrests (Domestic)** ||
 * ~ <span style="color: #333366; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">Calendar Year ||~ <span style="color: #333366; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">Number of Arrest ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2009 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">30,567 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2008 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">26,425 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2007 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">29,097 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2006 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">29,993 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2005 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">29,005 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2004 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">27,053 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2003 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">28,549 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2002 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">30,270 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2001 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">34,471 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2000 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">39,743 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1999 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">41,293 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1998 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">38,468 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1997 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">34,068 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1996 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">29,269 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1995 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">25,279 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1994 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">23,135 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1993 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">21,637 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1992 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">24,541 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1991 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">23,659 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1990 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">22,770 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1989 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">25,176 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1988 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">24,853 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1987 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">22,751 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1986 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">19,884 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Total ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">623,454 ||
 * <span style="color: #333366; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">Source: DEA (SMARTS) ||
 * <span style="color: #333366; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">Defendant Statistical System (DSS) [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/US_incarceration_timeline.gif width="983" height="388" caption="File:US incarceration timeline.gif" link="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/US_incarceration_timeline.gif"]] ||

<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">This chart gives an overview of the amount of each type of drug seized by the DEA with totals coming out to astounding amounts. The amount of drugs seized has made tremendous progress since the start of the war on drugs.
 * <span style="color: #333366; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"> **DEA Drug Seizures** ||
 * ~ <span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Calender Year ||~ <span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Cocaine kgs ||~ <span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Heroin kgs ||~ <span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Marijuana kgs ||~ <span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Methamphetamine kgs ||~ <span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hallucinogens dosage units ||
 * <span style="color: #333366; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**2009** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">49,339 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">642 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">666,120 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">1,703 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">2,954,251 ||
 * <span style="color: #333366; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**2008** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">49,823.3 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">598.6 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">660,969.2 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">1,540.4 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">9,199,693 ||
 * <span style="color: #333366; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**2007** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">96,713 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">625 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">356,472 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">1,086 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">5,636,305 ||
 * <span style="color: #333366; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**2006** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">69,826 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">805 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">322,438 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">1,711 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">4,606,277 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2005 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">118,311 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">640 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">283,344 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">2,161 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">8,881,321 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2004 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">117,854 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">672 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">265,813 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">1,659 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">2,261,706 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2003 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">73,725 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">795 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">254,196 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">1,678 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">2,878,594 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2002 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">63,640 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">710 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">238,024 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">1,353 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">11,661,157 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2001 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">59,430 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">753 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">271,849 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">1,634 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">13,755,390 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2000 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">58,674 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">546 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">331,964 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">1,771 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">29,307,427 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1999 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">36,165 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">351 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">338,247 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">1,489 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">1,736,077 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1998 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">34,447 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">370 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">262,180 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">1,203 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">1,075,457 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1997 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">28,670 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">399 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">215,348 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">1147 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">1,100,912 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1996 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">44,735 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">320 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">192,059 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">751 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">1,719,209 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1995 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">45,326 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">876 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">219,830 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">876 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">2,768,165 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1994 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">75,051 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">491 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">157,181 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">768 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">1,366,817 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1993 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">55,529 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">616 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">143,055 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">560 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">2,710,063 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1992 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">69,324 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">722 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">201,483 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">352 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">1,305,177 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1991 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">67,016 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">1,174 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">98,592 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">289 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">1,297,394 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1990 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">57,031 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">535 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">127,792 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">272 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">2,826,966 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1989 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">73,587 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">758 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">286,371 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">896 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">13,125,010 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1988 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">60,951 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">728 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">347,306 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">694 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">16,706,442 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1987 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">49,666 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">512 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">629,839 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">198 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">6,556,891 ||
 * **<span style="color: #333366; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1986 ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">29,389 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">421 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">491,831 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">234.5 || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">4,146,329 ||
 * <span style="color: #333366; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">Source: DEA (STRIDE) ||
 * <span style="color: #333366; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">CY 2000 had several large LSD Seizures ||

<span style="color: #1e5252; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 200%;">Bibliography
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