Cannabis policy of the Richard Nixon administration

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

During the administration of American President Richard Nixon (1969–1974), the United States turned to increasingly harsh measures against cannabis use, and a step away from proposals to decriminalize or legalize the drug. The administration began the War on Drugs, with Nixon in 1971 naming drug abuse as "public enemy number one in the United States."[1]

Operation Intercept[]

Operation Intercept was an anti-drug measure announced by Nixon on at 2:30pm on Sunday, September 21, 1969, resulting in a near shutdown of border crossings between Mexico and the United States. The initiative was intended to reduce the entry of Mexican marijuana into the United States at a time that was considered to be the prime harvest season.[2]

Controlled Substances Act[]

In 1969, Nixon announced that his Attorney General John N. Mitchell would prepare comprehensive new measures to address drug use in the United States. Under 1970's Controlled Substances Act, cannabis was listed as Schedule I with other drugs having maximum abuse potential but no medicinal value.[3]

Shafer Commission[]

Nixon rejected the pro-decriminalization findings of Canada's Le Dain Commission and the British Wootton Report.[4]

In the early 1970s, Nixon formed the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse (Shafer Commission), telling Shafer "I want a goddam strong statement... one that just tears the ass out of" cannabis supporters. However, the Shafer Commission's 1972 report stated that cannabis should be decriminalized, and that prosecuting cannabis was a distraction from the fight against heroin. Nixon was infuriated by this betrayal from Shafer, and refused to appoint him a federal judgeship.[5]

Drug Enforcement Administration[]

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was established by Nixon in 1973.[6]

References[]

  1. ^ William Avilés (5 October 2017). The Drug War in Latin America: Hegemony and Global Capitalism. Taylor & Francis. pp. 52–. ISBN 978-1-315-45667-6.
  2. ^ The 1969 marijuana shortage and "Operation Intercept," The Consumers Union Report on Licit and Illicit Drugs.
  3. ^ Martin A. Lee (13 August 2013). Smoke Signals: A Social History of Marijuana - Medical, Recreational and Scientific. Simon and Schuster. pp. 119–. ISBN 978-1-4391-0261-9.
  4. ^ Rudolph Joseph Gerber (2004). Legalizing Marijuana: Drug Policy Reform and Prohibition Politics. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-275-97448-0.
  5. ^ Emily Dufton (5 December 2017). Grass Roots: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Marijuana in America. Basic Books. p. 54. ISBN 978-0-465-09617-6.
  6. ^ Peter Watt; Roberto Zepeda (14 June 2012). Drug War Mexico: Politics, Neoliberalism and Violence in the New Narcoeconomy. Zed Books Ltd. p. 38. ISBN 978-1-84813-889-6.
Retrieved from ""