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Drug Enforcement Administration

Prior to the establishment of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), a fragmented approach to fighting the “War on Drugs” existed in the United States. The DEA has 227 field offices, 80 offices in 58 countries, and approximately 5,600 Special Agents. Under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Justice, the DEA is the lead agency on the domestic enforcement of drug policy, and tasked with the war on drug smuggling entering the United States borders.

The DEA emerged under an agency reorganization plan signed by President Richard Nixon on March 28, 1973. The plan consolidated and reorganized a federal agency to coordinate the government's drug control mission. Prior to the development of the DEA, there were several overlapping agencies. Moreover, during that era, the president's reorganization plan corrected poor unity of command and eliminated multiple agency responsibility for drug law enforcement.

Originally, President Lyndon Johnson, President Nixon's predecessor, consolidated the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN), which had jurisdiction in narcotics and marijuana cases, and the Bureau of Drug Abuse Control (BDAC), which had law enforcement jurisdiction over dangerous drugs, depressants, stimulants, and hallucinogens. These fragmented agencies reorganized under the Justice Department through the creation of the former Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (BNDD).

Under President Nixon's plan, the Office of Drug Abuse Law Enforcement (ODALE) and the federal offices of BNDD merged to form the current DEA to fight the national and international War on Drugs. Selecting the right special agents to serve in the DEA was of primary importance in establishing the new DEA identity.

Organizational Structure

A Department of Justice law enforcement agency, DEA remains the lead federal agency with jurisdiction for coordinating and managing law enforcement concerning illegal drug use and illicit trafficking. DEA provides a unified management system for the control of illegal substances under federally mandated laws. This agency is responsible for preventing, deterring, and investigating the manufacture and distribution of controlled substances imported to the United States.

The president of the United States appoints the DEA Administrator and the presidential appointment requires the approval of the U.S. Senate. The management structure of DEA includes a deputy administrator (DA), chief of operations, chief inspector, assistant administrator for operations support, intelligence division, and human resources division. The budget for DEA exceeds $2 billion. The headquarters for the DEA is located in Quantico, Virginia, near the FBI, and runs its own DEA Academy.

History

Upon its inception in 1973, DEA comprised 1,470 special agents and had an annual budget of $74 million. Ever since, DEA resources have consistently grown in response to the ever-increasing drug problem in the United States. As of 2008, the budget for DEA was $2.4 billion and its special agents numbered 5,235.

The El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC), established in 1974, evolved out of the need to secure the border and prevent drug trafficking. The EPIC mission is to provide accurate near time or real-time intelligence support to federal, state, local, tribal, and international law enforcement agencies. A host of federal agencies supports the EPIC mission including DEA, FBI, the U.S. Marshal Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Homeland Security, and many other federal agencies. This intelligence center serves 15 law enforcement agencies, 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam. In addition, EPIC supports Canada and foreign counterparts internationally.

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