Davon+S.

=**May 10, 2010 - Preliminary research**=

Please post the following items: Reagan’s War on Drugs The war against drug use in the United States can be traced back to the late 1800s. Before then, the dangers of some drugs were not fully known and the government did little or nothing to regulate them. The original Coca-Cola beverage, first made in 1886, got its name from one of its main ingredients which were cocaine. It was marketed as a nerve and brain tonic and a means to get rid of headaches. But it was not long before people realized that cocaine was dangerously addictive, and the makers of what would one day become the world's most popular soda took the drug from the recipe around 1900. Since then, a lot has changed. New drugs have been discovered and invented, and public opinion has swung back and forth. In 1971, President Richard Nixon called drug use public enemy number one and created laws to fight the importation of these illegal drugs. Ten years later, President Ronald Reagan declared a more militant war on drugs, but it was his wife, First Lady Nancy Reagan, who coined the phrase “Just Say No." By examining the illegal drugs that were being used, how the CIA handled the war on drugs, and all that the Reagan administration did, it is apparent that Ronald Reagan had a positive effect on the war on drugs. By examining the illegal drugs that were being used, it is apparent that Ronald Reagan had a positive effect on the war on drugs. The existence of the coca plant in the Andes can be traced back to 2500 BCE, centuries before the rise of the Incan empire. Coca was considered to be a sacred plant, which had magical powers. The leaves were traditionally used in rituals, as offerings, to make predictions on things that were going to happen, and to heal sickness. Some people chew the leaf, which has a mild stimulant effect, and helps them to resist hunger and fatigue. People in the Andes also use the coca leaves in everyday products such as herbal teas, toothpaste, and wine. In the late nineteenth century, European doctors began to explore the anesthetic properties of the cocaine which is an active ingredient of the coca leaf. Doctors thought it would make an ideal anesthetic because it blocked pain impulses to the brain. In 1884 doctors began to use cocaine as an anesthetic in eye operations and cocaine became a widely used medicine as the word spread about this powerful drug. In 1888 Dr. John Pemberton of Atlanta, Georgia, combined coca leaves with African cola nut extract to create what is now the world's most popular beverage, Coca-Cola. As awareness about the harmful impacts of the drug grew, the American public began to demand that the social use of cocaine be banned. Coca-Cola eliminated the use of coca leaf extracts in its soda in 1903, and the U.S. government outlawed the use of cocaine in 1914. Conservative parent groups opposed to marijuana had helped to spark the Reagan Revolution. People believed marijuana symbolized the weakness of their society. It was held responsible for the unattractive appearance of teenagers and their “I don’t care attitude”. The Reagan administration, believed that marijuana was the cause of the young-adult generation's involvement in anti-military, anti-nuclear power, anti-big business, anti-authority demonstrations. A public-health approach to drug control was replaced by law enforcement. Drug abuse was no longer considered a form of sickness. All drug use was seen as immoral, and punishing drug offenders was thought to be more important than getting them off drugs. By examining the illegal drugs that were being used, it is apparent that Ronald Reagan had a positive effect on the war on drugs. By examining how the CIA handled the war on drugs it is apparent that Ronald Reagan had a positive effect on the war on drugs. Prior to the late 1960s the problem of drug abuse in the United States had been minor. Opium and cocaine had been problems in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century’s when they had been legal and their addictive effects little understood. The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 had banned them. After, many laws prohibited the possession and distribution of several substances. Though organized crime had always managed to break these laws, the use of illegal drugs  was nothing compared to today’s standards. This changed suddenly in the late 1960s and early 1970s, as the abundant drug use by the young and a tidal wave of heroin came into the United States from Southeast Asia. This was made possible by military and political alliances between the CIA and warlords it joined forces with to fight anticommunist campaigns during the Vietnam War. Congress had granted authority to President Lyndon B. Johnson to wage limited war  in Vietnam but nowhere else. The CIA wanted to extend the anticommunist war into the rest of Southeast Asia,. In order to generate funds to organize warfare, the CIA allowed its partners to sell large quantities of drugs , a good deal of which made its way into the United States, owing to corruption among individual agents, Saigon government officials, and actions taken by the Corsican mafia in Marseilles, France, to profit from the huge amounts of heroin. The Sicilian mafia, which faced competition, stepped up its own drug operations, smuggling heroin from anticommunist in Afghanistan, who were also backed by the CIA. By the late 1980s, heroin had again become popular, and much of this product was generated by the Mujahideen to fund their CIA-supported war  against the communist government of Afghanistan. Anticommunist warlords needed money to fund their operations, and the CIA was willing. This was a problem which resulted in organized crime selling drugs  on a large scale in the streets of America. By examining all that the Reagan administration did, it is apparent that Ronald Reagan had a positive effect on the war on drugs. Under President Ronald Reagan, America not only increase its involvement in the Middle East by supplying arms to both Iraq and Iran in their war against each other, but America stepped up its involvement in conflicts around the world, especially in South America. The “War on Drugs” really started with President Nixon and his attack on marijuana, but Reagan is known as the “Just Say No” president for his campaign against drugs in America and a strong policy of international drug elimination. Under Reagan’s policy, at a time when Americans were being presented with strong anti-drug propaganda, the CIA was in fact a partner to a large narcotics smuggling ring in the United States. It was in fact Reagan’s policies that led to the cooperation between the CIA and the Contras. The Contras were a counter-revolutionary group that was fighting against the Sandinistas to return the corrupt Somoza regime to power in Nicaragua. The truth is that the "War on Drugs" is more about international politics and control then it is about concern for the health of Americans. Drugs have been a major factor in the funding of revolutions for centuries. This is because drugs are a very high profit product that can be grown by almost anybody, and for this reason alone it is very hard to control. In fact the American Revolution was funded by drugs. The main drug in the funding of the American Revolution was tobacco, but opium played a small role as well. Tobacco was regulated by the King of England not only for health reasons, but also because he knew that it was funding the American colonies. America was able to pay for French support in the war against England largely through the profit gained from tobacco sales. At the time the American Revolution was also known as The Tobacco Wars and the area of Massachusetts Bay was known as The Tobacco Coast. The reason why the Reagan administration began the War on Drugs was to cut off the money supply to revolutionary groups in South America, the Middle East, and Asia that were using drug money to fund wars for national independence from foreign intervention. America has been able to selectively apply pressure to various groups under the disguise of the War on Drugs, which is just one more way the American government have been able to get funding for taking action against foreign governments in order to promote American interests. Another one of the major problems that prompted the beginning of the War on Drugs and was able to get much of the initial support for the program was the problem of the Medellin Cartel in Columbia run by Pablo Escobar. By examining all that the Reagan administration did, it is apparent that Ronald Reagan had a positive effect on the war on drugs.

I. Introduction Paragraph a. Background information i. The fight against drug use in the United States goes all the way back to the late 1800s. Before then, the dangers of some drugs were not fully understood and the government did little to nothing to regulate them. ii. President Ronald Reagan declared a militant war on drugs, but it was his wife, the First Lady Nancy Reagan, who coined "Just Say No." b. Thesis II. History of illegal drugs a. Cocaine i. The existence of the coca plant in the Andes dates back to 2500 BCE, centuries before the rise of the Incan empire. Coca was considered to be a sacred plant, endowed with magical powers. The leaves are traditionally used in rituals, as offerings, to forecast coming events, and to cure ailments. III. Early Wars on drugs a. Prior to the late 1960s the problem of drug abuse in the United States had been relatively minor. b. This changed suddenly in the late 1960s and early 1970s, as the rampant drug use by the young and a "tidal wave" of heroin inundated the United States from southeast Asia
 * i. ** ** While the use of illegal drugs was a growing trend in the 1980's, Ronald Reagan did all he could to stop the trafficking of illegal drugs **


 * Working thesis statement:**

By examining the illegal drugs being used, how the CIA handled the war on drugs, and all that the Reagan administration did, it is apparent that Ronald Reagan had a positive effect on the war on drugs.


 * While the use of illegal drugs was a growing trend in the 1980's, Ronald Reagan did all he could to stop the trafficing of illegal drugs.**

"NewsHour Extra: War on Drugs - May 2002." //PBS//. Web. 07 May 2010. .
 * Working bibliography:**

"The CIA Drug Connection under Reagan." //Rationalrevolution.net - Making Sense of History, Economics, Politics, Philosophy, and War//. Web. 07 May 2010. .

"Timeline: America's War on Drugs : NPR." //NPR : National Public Radio : News & Analysis, World, US, Music & Arts : NPR//. Web. 07 May 2010. [].

//Black Enterprise// Aug. 1988: 29. Web

Hudson, Cheryl, and Gareth Davies. //Ronald Reagan and the 1980s: Perceptions, Policies, Legacies//. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. Print.

"Reagan's Drug War Legacy | Drugs | AlterNet." //Home | AlterNet//. Web. 09 May 2010. [].

"TheReagan-EraDrugWarLegacy." //Raising Awareness of the Consequences of Drug Prohibition | Stop the Drug War (DRCNet)//. Web. 09 May 2010. [].

Amatangelo, Gina. "The Expanded U.S. Drug War in Latin America: A Downed Missionary Plane Places the Spotlight on the Andean Initiative." //History Behind the Headlines: The Origins of Conflicts Worldwide//. Ed. Sonia G. Benson. Vol. 4. Detroit: Gale Group, 2002. //Student Resource Center - Gold//. Gale. Brooks (Southside Coll.). 17 May. 2010 [|http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do? &contentSet=GSRC &type=retrieve &tabID=T001 &prodId=SRC-1 &docId=EJ2309004002 &source=gale &userGroupName=cps1500 &version=1.0].

"War on Drugs in the 1980s." //DISCovering U.S. History//. Online ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003. //Student Resource Center - Gold//. Gale. Brooks (Southside Coll.). 17 May. 2010 <http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do