Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988

The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 (Pub.L. 100–690, 102 Stat. 4181, enacted November 18, 1988, H.R. 5210) is a major law of the so-called "War on Drugs" passed by the U.S. Congress which did two significant things:

1. Created the policy goal of a drug-free America; and
2. Established the Office of National Drug Control Policy[2]

Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988

Other short titles	Alcoholic Beverage Labeling Act of 1988 Anti-Drug Abuse Amendments Act of 1988 Asset Forfeiture Amendments Act of 1988 Bureau of Land Management Drug Enforcement Supplemental Authority Act Chemical Diversion and Trafficking Act of 1988 Child Protection and Obscenity Enforcement Act of 1988 Comprehensive Alcohol Abuse, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Amendments Act of 1988 Drug-Free Public Housing Act of 1988 Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 Drunk Driving Prevention Act of 1988 Federal Aviation Administration Drug Enforcement Assistance Act of 1988 Insular Areas Drug Abuse Amendments of 1988 International Narcotics Control Act of 1988 Justice Department Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Enhancement Act of 1988 Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Amendments of 1988 Minor and Technical Criminal Law Amendments Act of 1988 Money Laundering Prosecution Improvements Act of 1988 National Commission on Measured Responses to Achieve a Drug-Free America by 1995 Authorization Act National Narcotics Leadership Act of 1988 Native Hawaiian Health Care Act of 1988 Public Housing Drug Elimination Act of 1988 Truck and Bus Safety and Regulatory Reform Act of 1988 Uniform Federal Crime Reporting Act of 1988 Urgent Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1989
Long title	An Act to prevent the manufacturing, distribution, and use of illegal drugs, and for other purposes.
Acronyms (colloquial)	ADAA, ADTSA
Nicknames	Alcohol and Drug Traffic Safety Act of 1988
Enacted by	the 100th United States Congress
Effective	November 18, 1988
Citations
Public law	100-690
Statutes at Large	102 Stat. 4181
Codification
Acts amended	Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 Administrative Procedure Act Freedom of Information Act
Titles amended	5 U.S.C.: Government Organization and Employees 21 U.S.C.: Food and Drugs
U.S.C. sections created	21 U.S.C. ch. 20, subch. I § 1501 et seq.
U.S.C. sections amended	5 U.S.C. ch. 5, subch. I § 500 et seq.[1] 5 U.S.C. ch. 5, subch. II § 552 21 U.S.C. ch. 13, subch. I § 801 et seq. 21 U.S.C. ch. 13, subch. I § 841 et seq. 21 U.S.C. ch. 13, subch. II § 951 et seq.
Legislative history
Introduced in the House as H.R. 5210 by Thomas Foley (D–WA) on August 11, 1988 Committee consideration by House Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs, House Education and Labor, House Foreign Affairs, House Government Operations, House Energy and Commerce, House Interior and Insular Affairs, House Judiciary, House Merchant Marine and Fisheries, House Public Works and Transportation, House Ways and Means Passed the House on September 22, 1988 (375-30) Passed the Senate on October 14, 1988 (87-3, in lieu of S. 2852) with amendment House agreed to Senate amendment on October 22, 1988 (346-11) with further amendment Senate agreed to House amendment on October 22, 1988 (Voice) Signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on November 18, 1988

The change from the Act of 1986 to the Act of 1988 concerns the mandatory minimum penalties to drug trafficking conspiracies and attempts that previously were applicable only to substantive completed drug trafficking offenses. The Act amended 21 U.S.C. 844 to make crack cocaine the only drug with a mandatory minimum penalty for a first offense of simple possession. The Act made possession of more than five grams of a mixture or substance containing cocaine base punishable by at least five years in prison. The five year minimum penalty also applies to possession of more than three grams of cocaine base if the defendant has a prior conviction for crack cocaine possession, and to possession of more than one gram of crack if the defendant has two or more prior crack possession convictions.[3]

The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 also offers several other amendments to the Act of 1986. First, the organization and coordination of Federal drug control efforts. Next, the reduction of drug demand through increased treatment and prevention efforts. Also, the reduction of illicit drug trafficking and production abroad. Lastly, sanctions designed to place added pressure on the drug user. The ADAA projected budget for these amendments was $6.5 billion for the 1989 fiscal year”.[4] The result of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 was not foreseen. “After spending billions of dollars on law enforcement, doubling the number of arrests and incarcerations, and building prisons at a record pace, the system has failed to decrease the level of drug-related crime. Placing people in jail at increasing rates has had little long-term effect on the levels of crime”.[5]

It also re-established the federal death penalty.[6][7]

The H.R. 5210 legislation was passed by the 100th U.S. Congressional session and enacted into law by the 40th President of the United States Ronald Reagan on November 18, 1988.[8]

The media campaign mentioned in the act later became the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign.

See also

• Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986
• Chemical Diversion and Trafficking Act
• Domestic policy of the Ronald Reagan administration
• Federal drug policy of the United States

References

1. Hall, D: Administrative Law Bureaucracy in a Democracy 4th Ed., page 2. Pearson, 2009.
2. "Authorizing Legislation". Authorizations Language. U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy.
3. "1995 Report to the Congress: Cocaine and Federal Sentencing Policy". United States Sentencing Commission. October 28, 2013.
4. "NCJRS Abstract - National Criminal Justice Reference Service". www.ncjrs.gov.
5. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-02-17. Retrieved 2015-04-27.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
6. "The Anti-Drug Abuse Act Of 1988". Department of Justice. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
7. Kelley Czajka (July 25, 2019). "How Does the Federal Death Penalty Work?". Pacific Standard.
8. Peters, Gerhard; Woolley, John T. "Ronald Reagan: "Remarks on Signing the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 ," November 18, 1988". The American Presidency Project. University of California - Santa Barbara.