Helping her husband’s efforts to battle drug addiction, Nancy Reagan started her famous "Just Say No" campaign, setting the stage for the implementation of zero tolerance policies and the creation of DARE, a drug education program founded by Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl Gates (who believed that casual drug users should be taken out and shot). DARE was quickly adopted nationwide. A story that alarmed the nation and sparked panic regarding the use of cocaine and crack consumption, was the death of Len Bias, a promising star for the Celtics, who died of cocaine overdose in 1986. His death helped to push the efforts of the Reagan’s administration to enact even harsher laws. This was a promising young man whose life was taken after one night of …show more content…
Even though such programs existed, funding was insufficient to meet the overwhelming demand. Reagan’s harsh drug policies blocked the expansion of a very effective program of syringe access to reduce the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS, which in turn became an epidemic of scary proportions during and after the his administration. The presidency of Ronald Reagan marked the start of an era of escalating rates of incarceration, largely due to the unprecedented expansion of the drug war. The number of people imprisoned for nonviolent drug offenses increased from 50,000 in 1980 to over 400,000 by …show more content…
To the contrary, these laws have been counterproductive, not only at a tremendous monetary cost for tax-payers, but detrimental for the families that have to live through the harsh reality of the consequences of being in jail. In contrast, advocates against harsh drug laws, believe that current policies need to be changed and that the U.S. needs to shift spending from law enforcement and penalization to education, treatment, and