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A History Of Anti-Drug Laws In The United States

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A History Of Anti-Drug Laws In The United States
The 1870s marked a time in U.S history when anti-drug laws were first enacted. These laws were anti-opium and directed at Chinese immigrants. From there, it spread to anti-cocaine laws in the South which were directed at black men in the 1900s, then anti-marijuana laws directed towards Mexican migrants and Mexican Americans in the Midwest and Southeast which were prevalent throughout the 1910s and 20s (“A” 1). The drug war that the U.S. is experiencing today started in 1971 when Republican President Richard Nixon declared drugs public enemy number one. It increased the prevalence of drug control agencies and no-knock warrants which authorized law enforcement to enter a property without notification such as ringing a doorbell or knocking. (“A”
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