Just Say No
President Richard Nixon initially declared the "War on Drugs" in the seventies, but it wasn't until the eighties that it really shifted into full swing, under the guidance of the Regan administration. Pop culture quickly adopted the war for its own, producing propaganda every bit as ridiculous as that from fifty years ago. Drug dealers were depicted as monstrous terrorists who "pushed" their wares to schoolchildren. No distinction was drawn between drug use and drug abuse, and drug addicts were seen as scum on par with child molestors or murderers.
 A Drug-Free America
Drug-free? What a joke! Americans love their drugs. Caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, ibuprofin, Tylenol, Claratin, Ritalin, Prozac, Xanax, and more - it's doubtful that a single person living in this country can claim to be truly drug-free. Yet the prohibitionists claim that this is their goal.
Thankfully, the public began to loose interest in the constant demonization of drugs. In the mid-nineties, the Internet became popular due to the introduction of the World Wide Web. For the first time, citizens were able to quickly and effectively share information with one another, without the go-between of the mass media. Internet users were able to air a variety of opinions, showing that the War on Drugs was not as one-sided as it once appeared.
The grassroots movement that has questioned what was once unquestionable has spilled over into the mass media. Even former Drug Warriors and police officers have come out against the unwinnable war.
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Facts & Myths
History