War-on-Drugs

Anti-Drug Abuse Act Creates "Aggravated Felony" Category, Merging War on Drugs with Deportation

1988-11-18 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 7/10

President Ronald Reagan signs the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, introducing the “aggravated felony” concept into immigration law for the first time. Initially defined narrowly to include murder, federal drug trafficking, and illicit trafficking in certain firearms or destructive devices, …

Ronald Reagan U.S. Congress Department of Justice Immigration and Naturalization Service immigration deportation war-on-drugs mandatory-minimum due-process +1 more

Anti-Drug Abuse Act Establishes 100-to-1 Crack-Cocaine Sentencing Disparity

1986-10-27 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 9/10

Congress passes the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, establishing a 100-to-1 sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine offenses—imposing the same penalties for possession of 5 grams of crack cocaine as for 500 grams of powder cocaine. The legislation provided mandatory minimum …

Ronald Reagan Congress mass-incarceration racial-justice war-on-drugs criminal-justice sentencing-reform +1 more

Nixon Declares Drug Abuse "Public Enemy Number One"

1971-06-17 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 9/10

At a press conference on June 17, 1971, President Richard Nixon declared drug abuse “public enemy number one,” launching what became known as the War on Drugs. This announcement marked the beginning of a dramatic expansion of federal drug control policy and law enforcement that would …

Richard Nixon John Ehrlichman mass-incarceration institutional-racism war-on-drugs policing