President Nixon called drug abuse "public enemy number one" in 1971. The campaign escalated under President Reagan, and the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 created harsh mandatory minimums and the 100-to-1 crack-to-powder cocaine sentencing gap. Drug arrests climbed for decades and drove the rise of mass incarceration.
Enforcement has never been race-neutral. An ACLU report found that in 2018, Black people were 3.64 times more likely than white people to be arrested for marijuana possession, despite similar rates of use. The drug war also brought no-knock raids, civil asset forfeiture and pretext traffic stops into routine policing.
Casualties extend beyond prison. Drug convictions can block access to housing, student aid, jobs and voting. Many states have legalized marijuana, and some now offer expungement, but past convictions still shape the lives of millions of people.