Was now engaged in a “war on drugs. ” nixon’s speech marked the beginning of a new era of american drug policy. His announcement would lead to the. Is now rethinking policies that led to mass incarceration and shattered families while drug deaths kept rising.

Webefforts to disrupt illegal drug supplies suffered yet another major blow last year after mexican officials repudiated drug war tactics and began blocking most. Webat the heights of the war on drugs, federal law allowed violent drug offenders to be prosecuted in gang conspiracy cases, which often pinned homicides on groups of. Webhowever, at the same time, intensified enforcement launched what became known as the “war on drugs. ” 1 the harsher penalties led to a 1,216% increase in the.