Issues & Policies
The Baby Boomers’ Counterculture and a New Era for Drug Policy
Drug use in the U.S. and its policy response took a decidedly marked turn in the late 1960s driven largely by the baby boomer counter culture. The growing prosperity of the 76 million most educated generation to-date along with their...
Policy Alternatives and the Debate – Overview
Amid the debate for drug policy reform, much confusion surrounds the terms legalization, depenalization, decriminalization, and even harm reduction. Each is different and must be properly understood in order to implement suitable drug policies. Harm reduction generally refers to policies...
Drug Use and Crime Overview
Recreational use itself of any drug may not lead someone to damage his life or those around him, but all addiction begins with seemingly innocent occasional use. Yet, it is not only the user who becomes an addict –approximately 10%...
Johnson and the Emergence of a Counter Narcotics Strategy (1963-1969)
Starting with Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidency, successive administrations would deal differently with the challenges presented by growing drug use. Under Johnson, the Drug Abuse Control Amendments of 1965 were passed and the Food and Cosmetic Act of 1938 was amended,...
Legalization
Legalizing a drug removes the prohibition over its production, sale or consumption, albeit with at least some government regulation, as is the case with alcohol. Marijuana is the only drug to have been legalized in some parts of the world,...
The Origins of Modern Drug Use
The origins of our drug culture must also be better understood. Grasping the causes for the popularization of drugs, which began in the 1960s and has engulfed American society ever since, is vital. But we must reach further back in...