NIDA Substance Abuse

A substance abuse addiction can be described in many ways. The NIDA states that a “drug addiction is a chronic disease”. People abuse drugs despite the many consequences that it can have, especially changes in their brain. The start of any drug addictions begins with the use of taking drugs over time. After taking drugs for an extended period of time, it becomes a compulsive behavior that has major long-term affects on your brain function (NIDA, 2016). Up until 1906, drinking and substance use were not criminalized. The Pure Food and Drug Act, the Harrison Narcotic Act of 1914, the Volstead Act of 1919 and the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 is what started it all. By abusing these various substances, it led to them having minimal access to medical
President Richard Nixon created the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Nixon was the first to coin the term, “war on drugs”. The DEA was put into order in July 1973 and was to establish one way to combat “an all-out global war on the drug menace”. The Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) was started by the DEA’s staff in 1974. The role the DAWN was to help the federal government identify and analyze the extent of drug abuse in the United States. The DAWN received data from over 1300 different agencies. Some of the information they collected came from the emergency rooms in the hospital from patients who used illegal drugs. The data that DAWN receives is used to generate estimates of the total number of emergency department drug episodes in all hospitals (“Drug Abuse Warning Network”,
There were laws already put into place that aimed to control drug paraphernalia but were ineffective. They were vaguely worded and couldn’t withstand a constitutional attack. After many drafts, Harry Myers, DEA’s Office of Chief Counsel, came up with the Model Act. The act had a clear, comprehensive, and contained a detailed definition of “drug paraphernalia”. Also included was a list of criteria that courts could use in order to determine if particular objects should be considered paraphernalia. “The Model Act made the possession of paraphernalia, with the intent to use it with illicit drugs, a crime”. Around 1981, over 20 states had adopted the DEA’s Model Drug Paraphernalia Act (“Paraphernalia Law”, n.d.). During the early 1980s, it was apparent that there was a dire need for drug prevention programs. Citizens were calling on their elected officials to do more to control the widespread of drug use across the country. This is what led to the First lady Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” program that was announced in February 1985. “President Reagan signed a proclamation for National Drug Abuse Education and Prevention Week, saying, ‘We are on the right track’” in September 1984 (“Drug Prevention Program”,