U.S. Drug Policy: The War on Drugs (1971-2020) If there is one policy (and one phrase) that epitomizes the U.S. approach to illicit drugs and substance addiction over the last 50 years, it is this: “The War on Drugs.” The term was popularized by the U.S. media in 1971 after then-President Richard Nixon famously announced the beginning of his “War on Drugs,” having declared that drug abuse was “public enemy number one.” Nixon immediately raised federal funding for both the mil

In recent years, global attitudes towards the drug cannabis as both a medicinal and a recreational drug have been shifting. Many countries have seen changes in law to reflect the more liberal views of their voters: sometimes decreasing penalties for possession and usage, and sometimes permitting cannabis for medical purposes. There have recently been a number of changes to cannabis laws in South Africa. Here is a timeline of the key rulings. PRE-MARCH 2017 – SOUTH AFRICAN DRU

Two House Democrats in America introduced legislation to make drug possession no longer a federal crime and clear the records of those convicted of drug crimes. One of the bill’s authors, Rep. Cori Bush, said it would right the wrongs for victims of America’s 50-year-old war on drugs. “I lived through a malicious marijuana war that saw Black people arrested for possession at three times the rate of their White counterparts, even though usage rates are similar,” said Ms. Bush,