U.S. Drug Policy and Military Role in Border Protection
This paper examines the evolution of United States drug policy from the late 1960s through the Obama administration, tracing key legislative milestones and presidential initiatives that shaped the nation's approach to combating illegal drugs. It also explores the role of the U.S. military and Border Patrol in protecting American borders and ports from drug trafficking. Topics covered include Nixon's founding of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act, Reagan's Office of National Drug Control Policy, and successive administrations' varying approaches to drug enforcement and treatment. The paper concludes with an overview of Obama-era reforms emphasizing public health tools and reduced incarceration for non-violent drug offenders.
- Introduction: Overview of U.S. drug policy and paper scope
- Military Role in Border and Port Protection: Border Patrol duties, statistics, and military support
- Drug Policy Since the 1960s: Rise of drug culture and early federal responses
- Nixon Through Carter: Criminalizing Drugs: DEA founding and Comprehensive Drug Abuse Act
- Reagan, Bush, and the Escalating Drug War: Escalating enforcement, SWAT raids, and Colombia aid
- Obama's Approach and the Path Forward: Public health focus and reduced incarceration strategy
- Conclusion: Ongoing commitment to national drug control strategy
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper organizes a complex, decades-long policy history into a clear chronological narrative, making it easy for readers to follow the evolution of U.S. drug policy from the 1960s through the Obama era.
- It integrates two distinct but related topics — military border protection and domestic drug policy — without conflating them, giving each sufficient dedicated analysis.
- The use of concrete statistics (e.g., 5,000 pounds of cocaine seized along the Southwest border) grounds the discussion in real-world evidence and adds credibility to the argument.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective use of presidential administration framing as an organizational device. By anchoring each phase of drug policy to a specific president and their signature legislation or executive action, the author creates a structured timeline that helps readers understand how policy priorities shifted across administrations. This technique is particularly useful in policy analysis papers where change over time is the central concern.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with an introduction establishing the scope and historical context, then devotes a substantial section to the military's border protection role with supporting statistics. The bulk of the paper traces drug policy chronologically from the 1960s through Nixon, Reagan, Clinton, Bush, and Obama, highlighting each president's signature policy contributions. A brief conclusion ties the discussion back to ongoing strategy implementation at multiple levels of government.
Introduction
This paper addresses the United States policy on drugs as well as the involvement of the United States military in protecting the borders and ports of the country. It also examines the changes in drug policy since the late 1960s.
Former U.S. President Richard M. Nixon, during his tenure in 1971, founded the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) with the specific purpose of countering the large quantity of drugs entering the country from abroad. Nixon termed this effort a "war on drugs," intending to rid American streets of unlawful drugs and to shut down drug cartels. By 1994, it was found that this war on drugs had led to more than a million people being incarcerated in the United States. Given that many of these individuals were non-violent drug users, one must question whether the objectives of the war had truly been accomplished (Drug Policy). Overall rates of drug usage in the country declined; however, prominent sociologists have found that this was a result of other social causes rather than federal policy. This raises the question of where the drug war will head in the future.
References
DHS. "Border Patrol Overview." Department of Homeland Security. Web. 3 May 2015.
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Glass, A. (2010, October 14). Reagan declares 'War on Drugs,' October 14, 1982. POLITICO. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
(n.d.). Nixon and the Beginnings of the War. Global Initiative for Drug Policy Reform. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
Kokinda, R. (1993). Clinton's drug policy will increase illegal drug flows. EIR National, 20(38), 56–57.
LaMar, K. (1999). The military's role in the implementation of the national security policy on counterdrugs. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
Mason, C. (2010). Securing America's borders: The role of the military. CRS Report for Congress. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
(n.d.). George W. Bush 2000 on the Issues: Drug Policy. Presidential Campaigns & Candidates. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
Sharp, E. (1994). The Dilemma of Drug Policy in the United States. New York: HarperCollins College Publishers.
(2012). National Drug Control Strategy. The White House. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
Witte, B. (2013, April 24). Obama drug policy reform to be outlined by Gil Kerlikowske, nation's drug czar. Huffington Post. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
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