Anti Drug Abuse Act Of 1986

The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 was a bill passed by the U.S. Congress during the War on Drugs, which was originally declared by President Richard Nixon in 1971. The bill was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan. The bill was passed as a law in order to combat the nation’s drug epidemic as well as quell the nation’s concerns. During his Address to the Nation, President Reagan condemned crack cocaine, and described it as “..an explosively destructive and often lethal substance which is crushing its users...an uncontrolled fire” (Ronald Reagan. Address to the Nation. 14 September 1986). Through passing this law, Reagan and the law’s other supporters claimed that the law would allocate funds to new prisons, drug education, and treatment

Reagan called for the militarization of combat against drug offenses, and preached for punishment rather than rehabilitation. The average annual amount of funding for eradication and interdiction programs increased from an annual average of $437 million during Carter’s presidency to $1.4 billion during Reagan’s first term. The funding for programs of education, prevention, and rehabilitation were cut from an annual average of $386 million to $362 million (Rosenberger). One part of the law, the Federal Analogue Act, increased funding for new prisons and educational programs, but it created a mandatory minimum sentencing policy that would later influence the disproportionate prosecution of African-Americans (Elkins). Even though there were detrimental long-term effects of the law, that would eventually lead to a mass incarceration issue in the United States, there was still overwhelming support for the Act during the time period. The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 received widespread support because of the support the bill moderates and black leaders in addition to conservatives and because of the portrayal of drugs and users in the

The support from Democratic and moderate political leaders was a political tactic which was a direct result of the death of the University of Maryland basketball player Len Bias. Bias died of a cocaine overdose on June 19, 1986, just two days after he was selected with the No. 2 pick in the 1986 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics. Bias’s death was met with national disturbance; at his funeral service, with more than 11,000 people in attendance, Celtics president Red Auerbach stated that the city of Boston had not been so shocked since the assassination of John F. Kennedy (Modiano). After Bias’ death, there was pressure on the government to pass legislation meant to prohibit the rampant drug use in America. According to Dan Baum, Thomas P. O’Neill, the-then the Speaker of the House from Massachusetts, returned from the funeral thundering “write me some goddamn legislation,' because the papers were “screaming for blood.” O’Neill also said that they needed to get out in front of the issue immediately because “the Republicans beat us to it in 1984” and he wanted dramatic new initiatives for dealing with crack and other drugs” (Modiano). O’Neill’s mention about beating the Republicans in passing this law conveys his underlying motive in campaigning for it