Bush Administration, George H. W.

Program Implementation

While Bush was serving as the vice president of the United States, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 was signed into law by President Reagan. In addition to specifying the nation's budget for drug control policy, the bill mandated the creation of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). ONDCP is responsible for coordinating federal drug policies, and releasing periodical reports on national drug control strategies and results. President Bush presided over the first full presidential term after ONDCP was created. As its first director, Bush appointed William Bennett, former director of the Department of Education. The director of the ONDCP is colloquially known as the “drug czar,” a term first used by then Senator Joe Biden. Bennett retained this post until 1991. That year he was succeeded by Bob Martinez. Martinez was a former governor of the state of Florida who held his post as director of the ONDCP until the end of the Bush administration in 1993. President Clinton then appointed Lee P. Brown as ONDCP director.

Also during the Bush administration, in 1990 the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) first identified the five “high intensity drug trafficking areas” in the United States. High intensity drug trafficking areas are areas of the country thought to be major sources of the drug problems in the United States, most typically because of a high amount of drugs crossing U.S. borders. These five areas are Miami, Florida, Houston, Texas, Los Angeles, New York, and the southwest border. The High Intensity Drug Trafficking program is still in operation today, and gives federal funding to communities with chronic drug trafficking problems.

To assist with U.S. drug interdiction efforts, the U.S. Air Force introduced a new long-range radar system in 1990. Originally developed to detect air attacks from the Soviet Union, the system was reapplied in the detection of aircraft used by drug smuggling organizations. The system is physically located in Maine, and uses two giant antennas over two-thirds of a mile apart. Together, the antennas formed the first-ever radar system capable of scanning objects over the horizon, at distances of over 1,800 miles. When flights are picked up by this radar system, they can then be matched to known flight plans. Suspicious flights can then be identified and intercepted if necessary.

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