The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating illicit drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act,sharing concurrent jurisdiction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation,the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. However,the DEA has sole responsibility for coordinating and pursuing U.S. drug investigations both domestically and internationally.
The war on drugs is the policy of a global campaign,led by the United States federal government,of drug prohibition,military aid,and military intervention,with the aim of reducing the illegal drug trade in the United States. The initiative includes a set of drug policies that are intended to discourage the production,distribution,and consumption of psychoactive drugs that the participating governments,through United Nations treaties,have made illegal.
In the United States,the removal of cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act,the category reserved for drugs that have "no currently accepted medical use",is a proposed legal and administrative change in cannabis-related law at the federal level. After being proposed repeatedly since 1972,in 2024,the US Department of Justice announced it was initiating rulemaking to reschedule cannabis to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act.
John C. "Jack" Lawn served as the 4th Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) from 1985 to 1990. On 1 March 1985,Lawn,who had served as Deputy Administrator since 1982,was designated Acting Administrator following the retirement of Francis M. Mullen. On 4 April 1985,he was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to be the next Administrator of the DEA. Mr. Lawn was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on 16 July 1985,and sworn in on 26 July 1985.
Robert Cleve Bonner is an American lawyer and arbitration neutral,a former prosecutor,former United States District Judge,former Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration and former Commissioner of United States Customs and Border Protection. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the California Institute of Technology,a retired partner at the law firm Gibson,Dunn &Crutcher and former Chair of the California Commission on Judicial Performance.
Thomas A. Constantine served as the 6th Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) from March 1994 to July 1999.
Donnie R. Marshall is an American federal agent who served as the 7th Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) from 1999 to 2001.
Anne Melissa Milgram is an American attorney and academic who currently serves as Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) since 2021. She previously served as the 57th Attorney General of New Jersey from 2007 to 2010.
Karen Pomerantz Tandy is an American attorney and law enforcement official who served as the 9th Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration from 2003 to 2007. She was nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 31,2003. She was the first female head of the DEA. Since 2016 she has served on the Homeland Security Advisory Council.
Michele Marie Leonhart is an American career law enforcement officer who served as Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) from 2010 to 2015,as well as in an acting capacity from 2007 to 2010. After the resignation of Administrator Karen P. Tandy in the fall of 2007,Leonhart also served as Acting Administrator of the DEA. On February 2,2010,President Barack Obama nominated Leonhart for the position of DEA Administrator.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency is the lead anti-drug law enforcement agency,responsible for preventing,investigating and combating any dangerous drugs,controlled precursors and essential chemicals within the Philippines. The agency is tasked with the enforcement of the penal and regulatory provisions of Republic Act No. 9165,otherwise known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
In the United States,the use of cannabis for medical purposes is legal in 38 states,four out of five permanently inhabited U.S. territories,and the District of Columbia,as of March 2023. Ten other states have more restrictive laws limiting THC content,for the purpose of allowing access to products that are rich in cannabidiol (CBD),a non-psychoactive component of cannabis. There is significant variation in medical cannabis laws from state to state,including how it is produced and distributed,how it can be consumed,and what medical conditions it can be used for.
Thomas M. Harrigan was the Deputy Administrator for the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and a DEA Special Agent for nearly 25 years. He was nominated by President Barack Obama to the position of DEA Deputy Administrator on February 18,2011. He was confirmed as DEA Deputy Administrator by the United States Senate on March 29,2012.
Enrique "Kiki" Camarena Salazar was an American intelligence officer for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). In February 1985,Camarena was kidnapped by drug traffickers hired by Mexican politicians in Guadalajara,Mexico. He was interrogated under torture and murdered. Three leaders of the Guadalajara drug cartel were eventually convicted in Mexico for Camarena's murder. The U.S. investigation into Camarena's murder led to ten more trials in Los Angeles for other Mexican nationals involved in the crime. The case continues to trouble U.S.–Mexican relations,most recently when Rafael Caro Quintero,one of the three convicted traffickers,was released from a Mexican prison in 2013. Caro Quintero again was captured by Mexican forces in July 2022.
Chuck Rosenberg is an American attorney who served as Acting Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration from 2015 to 2017. He formerly served as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) and for the Southern District of Texas;as a senior FBI official on the staff of two FBI Directors;as Counselor to the Attorney General;as the Chief of Staff to the Deputy Attorney General;and as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia in Norfolk and Alexandria.
William J. Walker is a retired United States Army major general and former Sergeant at Arms of the U.S. House of Representatives. He was the 38th House Sergeant at Arms and the first African-American to hold the office. He last served as the 23rd Commanding General of the District of Columbia National Guard. This responsibility includes command of the District of Columbia Army and Air National Guard units. Walker previously served in the Drug Enforcement Administration as a Special Agent and was promoted to the Senior Executive Service in January 2003,with his final assignment being Deputy Assistant Administrator in Charge of the Office of Strategic Warning Intelligence. Walker is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a National Academy of Public Administration Fellow.
Uttam Anthony Singh Dhillon is an American attorney and law enforcement official who served as Acting Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration from July 2,2018,to May 18,2020. He is married to Janet Dhillon,a former commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration is the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration,a United States federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Justice,tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the United States. The current administrator is Anne Milgram.
Daniel Chretien Comeaux is an American federal agent who currently serves as Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) Houston Field Division since 2021.
