Watch: Ronald Reagan and his ‘War on Drugs’
An American tragedy in three acts.
▻https://timeline.com/ronald-nancy-reagan-war-on-drugs-crack-baby-just-say-no-cia-communism-raci
On October 14, 1982, President Ronald Reagan declared a “war on drugs,” doubling-down on an initiative that was started by Richard Nixon. Reagan declared that illicit drugs were a direct threat to U.S. national security and through a series of legislation, like the mandatory minimum sentencing laws of 1986, made a hard right turn away from a public health approach to drug use. Drug offenders faced lifetime consequences for minor infractions, yet the focus on tough sentences for crack and not powder cocaine meant the people going to prison were largely black and brown. The media seemed to play along, hyping up threats with racist coverage that largely ignored rampant cocaine use amongst whites and sensationalized the crack problem in inner-city black neighborhoods.
In his effort to “make America great again” (yes, that was originally a catchphrase from Reagan’s stump speeches), Reagan enlisted his wife, Nancy. The First Lady orchestrated the “Just Say No” program, which became a cornerstone of her legacy. But that tagline — while memorable — was a flop when it came to helping kids cope with complex situations. Meanwhile, the U.S. government put money and military resources behind Central American groups known to be trafficking cocaine, which played a major role in the creation of America’s inner-city crack cocaine problem.
Act 1: Building hysteria about the crack epidemic