America's Endless "War on Drugs" [News Inside ④]

War on Drugs: Still Ongoing
1971 Nixon's Declaration
Drug Types and Consumption Continue to Rise
Fentanyl Poses Security Threats
40 Million Addicts Last Year
100,000 Overdose Deaths Annually

"We declare war on drugs, the enemy of the people."

With this declaration by President Richard Nixon in 1971, the American version of the war on drugs began, spanning half a century. In the late 1960s, drug use surged in the United States alongside the rise of hippie culture. Narcotics such as heroin, marijuana, and cocaine spread among young people, and social unrest intensified. Nixon made the war on drugs a top national policy priority and strengthened crackdowns on trafficking organizations. Subsequent presidents followed suit.

Yonhap News Agency

However, some have called the war on drugs inefficient. In the 1980s and 1990s, the variety of drugs actually increased and consumption expanded. New types of drugs, such as methamphetamine and fentanyl, appeared in addition to cocaine and marijuana, leading to an endless battle. Since the 1990s, the abuse of synthetic opioid painkillers has triggered what is known as the "opioid crisis." As a result of pharmaceutical companies lobbying authorities to make synthetic opioid painkillers more easily prescribed to patients, it is reported that 645,000 Americans died between 1999 and 2021.

In the 2000s, synthetic drugs spread further. Especially in the past decade, fentanyl entering the country via China and Mexico is now being described as a complex security threat intertwined with organized crime, terrorism, and weapons trafficking. This suggests that President Trump's focus on fentanyl trafficking as a pretext for the "tariff war" is not mere exaggeration. Trump has stated, "Deadly drugs, including fentanyl, are a major threat killing our citizens."

Drug enforcement in the United States involves the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Each agency conducts operations in specialized ways to block the production, distribution, and financial flows of drugs. In particular, the DEA, established in 1973, focuses on dismantling domestic and international drug organizations. With branches worldwide, it is responsible for tracking synthetic drug precursors, apprehending smuggling organizations, and seizing assets. It is also the agency that Korean law enforcement agencies interact with regarding drug-related matters.

Despite comprehensive crackdowns, as of last year, the number of drug addicts in the United States approached 40 million, and about 100,000 people die annually from overdoses. Since the 2020s, it is reported that synthetic drugs smuggled from China and India account for more than 70% of the U.S. drug market. America's war on drugs is still ongoing.