INTRODUCTION President Richard M. Nixon signed the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act on October 27th, 1970. Moments later, he turned the law over to Attorney General John Mitchell, head of the Justice Department at the time, who was directed to head the federal drug-law enforcement effort. The act, which is known as the Controlled Substance Act, sets guidelines for the distribution of more than 20,000 drugs and establishes penalties for individuals convicted of illegal drug …showed first 75 words of 802 total…

…showed last 75 words of 802 total…in the 1970’s, they could not decide who was doing what or who was in charge of cases. The DEA was brought in to regulate the war on drugs. When established, the DEA was overworked and put to the test because of lack of personnel and equipment. Today, the Agency has more than 9,000 personnel including Special Agents, Lab and Information Analysts, even lawyers, working their hardest to keep drug sales and usage to a minimum.