Historical Factors and Us Drug Use, Essay Example

Identify 3 historical factors that made drug use such a major issue in the United States

Illegal drug addiction and sales are considered a major social issue within the United States. Three historical factors can be identified as contributing to the development of drug abuse as a major and public issue. The first historical factor to be considered is the very public drug culture that emerged throughout the 1960s and 1970s. The second historical factor, in response to the drug culture, is the continuing “war on drugs”, started by President Nixon in 1969. (Talvi, 2008) Last, the formation of the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) as part of the National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services in October of 1992. (National Institutes of Health, 2010) 

In the 1960s a counterculture of protest and rebellion emerged among young adults within the United States. One of the prevailing legacies of this counter culture is the accepted use of illegal drugs, such as marijuana and cocaine, among American society. Fueled by protest against the Vietnam War, governmental practices, and mainstream society, illegal drug use was adopted and used rampantly. During this time in American history, large quantities of drugs were brought into the US and the population of illegal drug use increased dramatically. This historical era opened the doors of drug trade that still remain open today. In response to the rampant drug use of the 1960s and 1970s, President Richard Nixon started the War on Drugs policy that President Ronald Reagan and First Wife Nancy Reagan put into full force. (Talvi, 2008) The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was developed in 1973 to enforce US drug laws and regulations. The establishment of a government organization for the sole purpose of dealing with drug use in the US made the public much more aware of drug use as a national problem. The formation of NIDA in 1974 and its later adoption into the National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services in 1992 gave the public yet another major take on drug use as a public issue not only of criminal behavior, but of mental health and addiction that must be treated in order to preserve a healthy nation. (National Institutes of Health, 2010)

Works Cited

National Institutes of Health. (2010, September 7). A Decade of NIDA Outreach and Education Initiatives: . Retrieved September 8, 2010, from NIDA National Insitute on Drug Abuse: The Science of Drug Abuse and Addiction: http://www.drugabuse.gov/NIDAHome.html

Talvi, S. J. (2008, February 8). Women Behind Bars. Retrieved September 8, 2010, from http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3501/women_behind_bars/