This week, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), celebrated its 50th Anniversary. It marks a half-century of enforcing laws criminalizing drugs that have failed in their mission to eradicate them. At the same time, nearly half the country has legalized cannabis and psychedelics are also booming.
Since the DEA was founded on July 1, 1973 by an executive order signed by President Richard Nixon the DEA budget and workforce have grown. However, illicit drugs are still widely available in the United States, as new substances, some of which are even more deadly, continue to be prohibited, while others, like cannabis, become increasingly legalized.
In a press statement about its 50th anniversary, , the agency that replaced, the former Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, stated , “Over the last 50 years, DEA worked to keep American Communities Safe and Healthy by preventing criminal drugs networks and drug-related deaths and violence.”
Today marks the 50th anniversary of DEA! DEA was founded on July 1, 1973, by President Nixon. We continue to honor our past and serve the future by anticipating & fighting deadly drug threats, as well as meeting the moment in order to protect Americans. #DEA50 https://t.co/0dHtQL69F7 pic.twitter.com/Acma0fo61F
DEA HQ (@DEAHQ July 1, 2020
The anniversary serves to remind us that, despite the fact that the agency continues making thousands of arrests each year, destroying controlled substances, and seizing assets, the war against drugs is one of the most expensive and least successful campaigns waged by the federal governments. In fact, in 2021, over 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses. This is a record.
Even major disruptions in international businesses haven’t stopped the flow of drugs. As the U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC) shows. The percent of heroin cases decreased by 37.4 % from 2018 to 2022. But the percent of fentanyl increased 435.4 %.
Reform advocates have also made great strides to combat the drug war narrative, affecting changes at the local and national levels. 23 states now allow marijuana for adults and two have ended the prohibition of certain psychedelics.
The federal reform process has been relatively slow, but the DEA has found itself in a situation where it must reconcile the science surrounding cannabis, and make a decision on whether or not to remove it under Schedule I of Controlled Substances Act.
DEA hasn’t been completely obstinate despite the paradigm shifts in public opinion and policies. has increased production quotas of marijuana and psychedelics to support research, as the interest in these substances grows within the scientific community. It also ended the long-standing monopoly of cannabis cultivation for research, by approving more manufacturers.
#DEA is celebrating its 50th birthday! Stay tuned for interesting facts about us and our efforts to keep communities safe and healthy. #DEA50https://t.co/0dHtQL69F7 pic.twitter.com/KuGdw64AxO
DEA HQ 30 June 2023
The DEA has also been sued numerous times over a href=”https://www.marijuanamoment.net/dea-sued-again-over’refusal to allow psilocybin access for patients despite federal law/” rel=”noopener” target=”_blank”>everything from psilocybin scheduling/a> to the way it a href=”https:// DEA also faces numerous lawsuits regarding , from psilocybin’s scheduling to how it handles Freedom of Information Act requests.
The DEA museum, as Reason reported in this week’s issue, is rife of subtle acknowledgments that the agency failed to win the war on drugs. The museum acknowledged publicly last year that racially biased drug laws were partially responsible for the agency’s founding.
Many members of Congress have criticized the criminalization approach to drugs, especially marijuana. Some Democrats have introduced legislation that would decriminalize federally all currently illici drugs, and move to a health-centered approach towards addiction.
But in the interim, there’s no sign that Congress will do away with DEA anytime soon despite its critical–and increasingly widely acknowledged–shortcomings. It is up to DEA to decide whether they will be partners in modernizing federal drug policy based on science or continue to play the prohibitionist Whac-A-Mole game that has lasted for 50 years.
Scotland calls on UK to end ‘failed’ drug war with decriminalization and harm reduction approach
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