Drug Laws: The Impact of Changing Social Norms and Shifting Morality
There is a veritable universal consensus that the federal government’s half century-long “war on drugs” has been a dismal failure, and there has been a corresponding sea change in public opinion concerning the use of cannabis and other formerly illicit drugs in recent years. Indeed, two-thirds of the states in America have already legalized marijuana in some fashion, and many others are considering this harm-reduction approach for their own citizens as well. This trend is being driven in part by the recognition that enormous tax revenues can be generated from commerce that was conducted on the black market in the past, and it is reasonable to suggest that these trends will continue well into the foreseeable future. To gain some fresh insights the antecedents of these trends, the purpose of this paper is to examine how shifting morality affected the nation’s response to drug control during the period between the enactment of the Controlled Substances Act in 1970 and the “war on drugs” launched by the Nixon administration in 1971. In addition, an analysis concerning the reasons behind the nation’s ongoing opioid crisis and the increasing number of states that have legalized recreational marijuana in recent years is followed by a summary of the research and important findings concerning these trends and their implications for the future in the conclusion.

Review and Analysis

How shifting morality affected the nation’s response to drug control between the passing of the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 (CSA) and the “War on Drugs” started by the Nixon administration in 1971

In many ways, the events that transpired during the brief period between the passage of the CSA and the Nixon administration’s launch of the “war of drugs” resembled other seminal events in the nation’s history such as the publication of Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle in late 1905 followed by the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act in June 1906 or the enactment of the USA Patriot Act immediately following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In sum, the U.S. Congress and executive branches are capable of taking action when the nation’s well-being and security are threatened, and it turns out that this was essentially the case with the Controlled Substances Act of 1970.

During late 1970 and early 1971, the Nixon administration was faced with a nation seemingly tearing itself apart at the political seams, and it is reasonable to posit that he felt compelled to do something – anything – to help restore law and order during this restive period...…legalized cannabis products for medicinal and/or recreational purposes in 70% of the states at present, with more lining up to normalize their marijuana laws and reap the associated taxation benefits (Anderson, 2020). Two landmark pieces of legislation that are currently pending in the U.S. Congress that will legalize marijuana at the federal level include the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act (H.R. 420) and the Marijuana Justice Act of 2019 (S. 597 & H.R. 1456), both of which see to remove marijuana from the Controlled Substance Act’s Schedule I list of drugs with no known medical applications.

Conclusion

As the existential threats of climate change and the global Covid-19 virus pandemic continue to ravage the nation and exact a heavy toll on front-line workers and the public’s already fragile psyche, it is easy to lose sight of how other social problems are adversely affecting tens of millions of Americans each year, including the tens of thousands that die from an opioid overdose. The research was consistent in showing that the Controlled Substances Act in 1970 and the Nixon administration’s “war on drugs” in 1971 were largely in response to perceived threats against the national interest, but the history record also shows that while this threat was real, it emanated from the nation’s capital rather than bongs and rolling papers..…