Nixon’s approach to drug control policy: lessons for

the Obama Administration

William Hynes2 September 2010

White House Office of National Drug Control Policy

Motivation Important area of public policy – modern approach to drug abuse prevention launched by Nixon.

The drug problem was part of the changing economic structure, altered status relations, and shifting attitudes. Part of a broader thesis investigating rising crime during the 1960s and 70s – how applicable is history?

Many subsequent accounts mischaracterise Nixon social policies – drug issue also frequently misunderstood

What lessons are there for the current Administration from the experiences of the Nixon drug programme?

Difficult Beginnings Breakdown of Law and Order Crime and Vietnam among the most important issues

Operation Intercept Customs and Education were initially the priorities

A Crime Laboratory “Drug rehabilitation is a virgin yet fertile area for social and political gain” (Donfeld 1970).

Heroin and Crime Robert DuPont, a psychiatrist, conducted urinalysis of everyone entering the Washington D.C. jail system in August 1969

DuPont was able to demonstrate a decline in crime due to drug treatment. DuPont convinced the city's Mayor Walter Washington to allow him to provide methadone to heroin addicts

Narcotic Treatment Administration (NTA)

The White House takes notice (Bud Krogh, Jeff Donfeld)

Spread of Heroin Epidemics

A Crime Surge?M urder Rate (1960=100)

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50

100

150

200

250

1960

1962

1964

1966

1968

1970

1972

1974

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1978

1980

1982

1984

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Property Crim e Rates (per 100,000) 1960=100

050100150200250300350400450500

19601963

196619691972

19751978

1981

19841987

199019931996

19992002

RobberyBurglaryLarceny-theftvehicle theft

Vietnam It was an allegation of the left, that a large percentage of American soldiers were returning to America as trained killers, addicted to heroin

Use of heroin had “reached crisis proportions, threatening to disrupt the Administration’s Vietnamisation policy”

New procedures for testing returning soldiers from Vietnam, and mandatory 30 day treatment program quickly eliminated the problem

Drug Treatment The Federal Government has only one economical and effective technique for reducing crime in the streets – methadone maintenance.”

“You couldn’t find any Republican who believed in treatment” Bud Krogh

Against the democratic philosophy of the root causes of crime

Black community opposed to methadone – perceived it as a way of subjugating African Americans, suspicious of collecting data on addicts

Substituting one form of addiction for another Bureaucratic barriers and NIMH

Announcing the War on Drugs

SAODAP The Special Action Office on Drug Abuse Prevention (SAODAP) announced May 1971 coalescing into one agency all Federal drug abuse prevention, rehabilitation, education, treatment, training and research programmes

Jaffe started building up a network of Federally funded facilities to treat heroin addicts

Within a year the Office was well on its way to providing a treatment place for any addict that wanted one

ODALE Office of Drug Abuse Law Enforcement established in January 1972

Organised Crime Strike Forces ODALE supplemented the efforts of existing federal, state, and local drug law enforcement agencies

Myles Ambrose became the point man for the Administration

“I got the feeling that we’d had our bite of the apple” Jaffe. Ambrose was more in tune with the constituency that Nixon needed to appeal to for the election

In 18 months ODALE arrested over 6,000 people, and broke up the major Harlem underworld drugs operation

Government Drug Spending

Federal Governm ent Drug Expenditures 1970-77 ($m )

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1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977

Treatm ent andRehabilitationEnforcem ent

Total

Foreign Policy We will “put more emphasis on solving the problem, than on diplomatic niceties. We will not temporise anymore. All departments are to move vigorously now”

Treasury Secretary Connally: “We should not tolerate allies who will produce opium which leads to the destruction of American youth” (July 1971 Meeting)

“clearly the strongest anti-drug president that we had ever seen. Anybody who knows the drug issue will tell you Nixon was the first and probably the last who had the guts to stand up and place drugs above foreign policy.” Bob Stuttman, Special Agent, DEA '73-'90

Successes Treatment was never a major perspective of either party, yet the Administration generated enormous political support for it

Large scale roll out of treatment, and methadone maintenance programmes throughout the country

Heroin panic in 1972, due to weakened supply, and success in breaking up the French Connection, and ending illegal opium production in Turkey

Vietnam heroin addiction problem solved

Crime was falling in the major cities

Failures Drugs politicised – 1972 polls indicated drug programme was not gaining the President much support. Administration talked up success of law enforcement.

1973 – Governor Rockefeller claimed treatment was not working. Rockefeller Drug Laws signed. Nixon requested a new range of drug penalties

Seeds of a law enforcement orientation were in the policies of Nixon – established the DEA in 1973.

A drug abuse industrial complex.

Marijuana policy remained tough, diluted focus on heroin

Conclusions Pragmatic, innovative and bi-partisan initiatives

Comprehensive approach. Balance between supply and demand side policies

Many Nixon era officials were disappointed by subsequent direction of drugs policy.

Reagan: ‘We’re taking down the surrender flag. . . . We’re running up the battle flag’

Obama Administration now brings the Nixon story full circle?

Lessons for today Energetic new ideas and people, opportunities to do new things

Existing establishment swept aside Federal leadership but implementation local Making supply and demand reduction work together

Lack of focus on Marijuana led to parents groups – same risk today?

Prescription drug use Civil Liberties Foreign Policy – new threats

Issues for Discussion How politicised are drug and crime issues today?

Are current approaches sustainable/affordable? Drugs hit the top rung of public policy twice - 1971-72 on heroin and 1986-1988 on crack. Unlikely to do so again?

Evolving drug problems - Prescription Drugs States in control of marijuana issue – challenge to Federal authority?

A muted conservative response to these developments?

Future Threats?