The Drug War has attempted to diminish the flow of drugs into the country, the manufacture of drugs within American borders and the desire to use drugs with supply and demand tactics. On the supply side, legislators have created severe penalties for possession and sale, and toughened border patrols. To reduce the demand for drugs, community programs, television campaigns and crime-watch programs educate citizens on the dangers of drug use and abuse. The Drug War helped create drug-free school zones and increased penalties for drug crimes that involved weapons.

Although the intensity of the drug war escalated in the mid-1980s, legislators first enacted drug laws in 1914 with the Harrison Narcotics Act which taxed narcotics and required licensure for those who dispensed drugs. The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 categorized marijuana as a narcotic for taxation and legislation purposes. Mandatory prison terms for drug use and sale...