Drug Enforcement in the United States

Michael D. Lyman

The enforcement of drug laws represents one of the major components of American law enforcement. Although drug enforcement has been a function of law enforcement since the early part of the 20th century, it gained considerable momentum in the mid-1970s when drug abuse began to soar and federal money for training, education, and equipment was made available to police agencies to address the problem. Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies share responsibility for most of the nation's drug enforcement efforts. When these entities combine their efforts, they primarily deal with the supply side of the nation's drug abuse problem. In 1973, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was formed to restrict the supply of controlled substances through coordination with state and local agencies. Today, the DEA remains the lead federal drug enforcement agency and has nearly 3,000 agents. In 1983, the Controlled Substances Act gave the Federal Bureau of ...

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