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DEA slammed over post commemorating Nixon’s drug war legacy on first day of Black History Month

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which is responsible for the Drug War legacy of President Richard Nixon, has been criticized over its decision to post a message on social media that commemorated Black History Month and President Nixon’s drug campaign.

The Throwback Thursday post (or TBT), on X, featured a photo of Nixon receiving a “certificate special honor” from the International Narcotic Enforcement Officers’ Association “in recognition of his outstanding loyalty and contribution in support of narcotics law enforcement” in December 1970.

The homage was criticized by some as being tone-deaf. It honored a president, whose domestic policy adviser would later reveal that his boss had promoted punitive drugs laws to target “his political enemies,” including “the antiwar left and Blacks.”

The TBT post was criticized for its timing, given that Black History Month is just around the corner.

About six month after Nixon’s photo was taken, he declared a war against drugs. This fueled a mass-incarceration campaign that had a racially disparate impact that lasted generations.

The Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), a group that advocates for drug policy, pointed out that Nixon also signed the Controlled Substances Act in 1970. This act codified broad drug criminalization and empowered the DEA. It is currently evaluating a recommendation by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to reschedule marijuana.

Kaliko Castille recently left his position as the president of the Minority Cannabis Business Association. Posting drug war propaganda on the first day Black History Month?

Cat Packer, Director of Drug Markets and Legal Regulation at DPA, echoed the sentiment.

She said, “On the first of Black History Month in 2024, the Biden Administration DEA will be celebrating President Nixon. This is the same agency that is responsible for marijuana scheduling.”


This is how other people reacted when DEA posted the Nixon post.

DEA has celebrated its history despite the unpopularity and DEA’s involvement in the drug war.

It celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, marking a half-century of enforcing laws criminalizing drugs that failed to achieve the mission of eradicating drugs, at the same moment that nearly half the country had legalized marijuana, and psychedelics were also on the rise.

The DEA museum contains many subtle acknowledgments that it has not won the drug war. The museum acknowledged publicly in 2022 that the of the drug laws was responsible for the founding .

The agency has been urged by HHS to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the CSA. However, the law enforcement agency has stated that it reserves “final authority” in the matter. The law enforcement agency has stated that it has “final authority” to decide whether to move marijuana to Schedule III or Schedule I of the CSA.


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The post Drug Enforcement Agency Slammed for Post Commemorating Nixon’s Drug War Legacy on First Day of Black History Month first appeared on Marijuana Moment.

Kyle Jaeger
Author: Kyle Jaeger

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