Marijuana

I am quite sure that many of you have heard of marijuana. As you have seen in my previous post you will see that marijuana is the number one illicit drug used for recreational purposes. Here we will discuss with in depth detail of the use and history of marijuana. For those of you who do not know what marijuana is, it is a plant that is grown and the bud is then smoked to feel the effects. The buds contain a mind altering chemical compound known as THC which stands for delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol. Marijuana is primarily smoked but can also be ingested. When marijuana is smoked the effects can last up to 2-3 hours while ingesting in can increase the effects up to 6-8 hours. For the longest time in history marijuana has been the number one drug the DEA has been trying to combat. The much harsh reality is the usage of marijuana today has been sky rocketing. States have been legalizing medicinal marijuana because studies have found that marijuana is beneficial and can be used as medicine. 

DARE Program

The DARE Program is short for Drug Abuse Resistance Education which was created in 1983. DARE is a program that teaches children from K through 12 about drug resistance by Police officers. They teach them the type of drugs and how to avoid peer pressure and live drug free lives. I remember participating in the DARE program when I was in elementary school. I do not believe that the DARE program is effective and should discontinued. Today the DARE program is taught all over the United States and still teaches how to live a drug free life. Since its popularity grew since 1983, the DARE program is also in effect in 52 other countries. This means that children and teens are being taught to live a drug free life all around the world.

Cocaine in America

Cocaine usage in the United States started to rise in the 1970s. Cocaine was produced in Columbia and was later smuggled into the United States via air travel and water ways. It became a popular drug in the party scene. In 1984 cocaine usage was in its peak with at least 10 million users. Colombian cartels soon started to profit significantly from this drug. The production price of Cocaine was about $1,500 per kilo and was marketed at $50,000 a kilo street value. The Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar imported about 80% of cocaine smuggled into the United States at the height of his career. DEA agent Steve Murphy was tasked with the man hunt for Pablo Escobar. In 1993 Pablo was killed in a shoot out with Colombian Security Forces.

Beginning of DEA

In 1971 President Richard Nixon had declared the war on drugs. President Nixon believed that the number one public enemy was drugs. The Drug Enforcement Administration was created by President Richard Nixon in order to establish a single unified command to combat “an all-out global war on the drug menace.” During this time drug use had not reached its all time peak in the United States but the problem had been big enough for the Federal Government to take action. With the new formation of the DEA they could focus all of their efforts on fighting against drug use in the United States. The DEA mostly focused the war on drugs by fighting against the usage of marijuana and cocaine.

 

 

Nixon and Marijuana

In 1969 President Nixon and his administration had launched an a operation to prevent marijuana from Mexico from entering the United States. The Operation was named “Intercept” it was the beginning of many new steps to prevent drugs from entering the United States. Operation Intercept lasted for 2 weeks before being abandoned. The operation had raised the intensity of searches of incoming vehicles and increased the border protection. This was quite significant because this was the first time in history that an operation this scale was to combat marijuana and other illicit drugs originating from Mexico.

Vietnam War and Vets

During the Vietnam War drug usage among the soldiers became quite common. The most popular drug to be used among the soldiers was marijuana. Once the marijuana usage in the military became too rampant, they started to begin using heroin. I think that this is quite fascinating because the men that fought in this war used the same drugs as the hippies back at home. Here is a video to give you a better understanding the drug use within the military.

When the war was over many of these veterans still used these drugs back home in America.

Hello there and welcome! I would like to state that this will be an educational blog post about the DEA. Please keep in mind that this is made by a student and will not be perfect. Without further delay let us begin! This blog will be focused on the DEA and general drug education.