Drug Policy

Drugs like cocaine and morphine were once available in over-the-counter medicines and tonics often in mixtures with alcohol.  Federal regulation beginning early in the 20th century quickly led to prohibition of most uses of opiates and hard drugs followed by the criminalization of marijuana in 1937 and hallucinogenic drugs like LSD in the 1960s.  The United States also joined international treaties, and during the administration of President Richard Nixon, launched the so-called War on Drugs which continues today combining demand reduction through education and prosecution with supply reduction through police action.  There is, however, a movement favoring drug decriminalization or legalization citing budgetary and social costs and advocating treating drug addiction as a medical rather than a criminal problem.  The platform of the Libertarian Party favors the repeal of drug laws as a matter of personal privacy. Complicating the debate and challenging federal authority is the growing availability of medical marijuana.  By 2012 15 states and the District of Columbia approved some form of cannabis program for medical conditions with pending legislation in another dozen states and ballot initiatives to legalize marijuana in several more.