Ford Administration, Gerald

The resignation of Richard Nixon sent shock waves throughout the Washington, D.C., political establishment. That many consider the presidency of Gerald Ford a continuing casualty of the Nixon calamity is not without reason. As the transition portended to drug policy, Ford found himself neither the absolutist that his predecessor was nor the more tolerant liberal the public seemed to want.

Ford's closest advisors were strongly adverse to the extremes of Nixon-era drug policy. Coupled with this, many felt federal drug policy needed to be reconsidered whole cloth. With both scientific and social opinions leaning away from harm principle-derived, punishment-driven policy, a more nuanced approach gained administration favor.

As Ford took office, a number of harsh realities came into focus. Chief among these was the fact that heroin ...