Crime of the Century

In June 1971, President Richard Nixon declared a war on drugs. The “war” increased the size, as well as the presence of federal drug control agencies. Nixon was also responsible for mandatory sentencing for drug offenses, and no-knock warrants. One of President Nixon’s top aides later said that the planning for the war on drugs began during the 1968 campaign when Nixon believed he had two “enemies,” the anti-establishment left and black people. The President couldn’t single out these two elements of society, but he could associate hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and let the media demonize these two groups. The President even made marijuana a Schedule One drug, the most restrictive class of drugs, which includes heroin. Marijuana was supposed to be reviewed by a special commission, which recommended decriminalization of it in 1972. The President refused to budge. Between 1973 and 1977, eleven states decriminalized it, and in October 1977, a Senate Judiciary Committee voted to decriminalize possession of up to an ounce of marijuana for personal use. However, parents became concerned about marijuana use, and with Ronald Reagan’s election as President, the drug war opened up full throttle.SPONSORS:Incipio Organicore & MagSafe Duo cases Now available to purchase for 20% off and free shipping by going to Incipio.com and use code: TCFC at checkout.Follow my socials:https://linktr.ee/LanieHobbsThank you for listening – if you enjoyed this episode please leave a positive review and rating on apple podcast or your podcast player of choice, it really does help.You can find us on most social media channels, Twitter @tcfcpod, facebook.com/tcfcpodcast, Instagram @truecrimefanclubpod & of course, our website is truecrimefanclub.comIf you have an episode suggestion, send us an email at [email protected] episode was researched and written by Suzy St. John.Content Editing by Brittney MartinezProduced by Neeks at WeTalkofDreams – check him out on Twitter @wtod or wetalkofdreams.comInterested in my audiobook, download it on audible now: The Little Demons Inside, by Micah ThomasBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-cases-w-lanie--3643504/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices