| Year | Pres. | House | Senate | Democrats | Republicans | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | R | R | R | |||
| 1904 | R | R | R | |||
| 1908 | R | R | R | |||
| 1912 | R | D | R | |||
| 1916 | D | D | D | |||
| 1920 | D | R | R | |||
| 1924 | R | R | R | Recognizing in narcotic addiction, especially the spreading of heroin addiction among the youth, a grave peril to America and to the human race, we pledge ourselves vigorously to take against it all legitimate and proper measures for education, for control and for suppression at home and abroad. | ||
| 1928 | R | R | R | |||
| 1932 | R | R | R | The Republican Party pledges itself to continue the present relentless warfare against the illicit narcotic traffic and the spread of the curse of drug addiction among our people. | ||
| 1936 | D | D | D | |||
| 1940 | D | D | D | |||
| 1944 | D | D | D | |||
| 1948 | D | R | R | |||
| 1952 | D | D | D | |||
| 1956 R | D | D | ||||
| 1960 R | D | D | ||||
| 1964 | D | D | D | Special effort must be made in our cities to provide wholesome living for our young people. We must press the fight against narcotics and, through the war against poverty, increase educational and employment opportunities, turning juvenile delinquents into good citizens and tax-users into tax payers. | ||
| 1968 | D | D | D | Intensified enforcement, research, and education to protect the public from narcotics and other damaging drugs: by review of federal narcotics laws for loopholes and difficulties of enforcement; by increased surveillance of the entire drug traffic; through negotiations with those foreign nations which grow and manufacture the bulk of drug derivatives | A vigorous nation-wide drive against trafficking in narcotics and dangerous drugs, including special emphasis on the first steps toward addiction the use of marijuana and such drugs as LSD | |
| 1969 R | D | D | Nixon identifies drug abuse as | |||
| “a serious national threat.” | ||||||
| 1970 R | D | D | Nixon declares a War on Drugs | |||
| 1972 | R | D | D | Drug addiction and alcoholism are health problems. . . A massive law enforcement effort, supported by increased funds and personnel, against the suppliers and distributors of heroin and other dangerous drugs, with increased penalties for major narcotics traffickers | To inhibit the distribution of heroin in our own country, we increased the law enforcement budget for drug control more than 10 times—from $20 million to $244 million. . . We realize that the problem of drug abuse cannot be quickly solved, but we have launched a massive effort where practically none existed before. . . We firmly oppose efforts to make drugs easily available. We equally oppose the legalization of marijuana. We intend to solve problems, not create bigger ones by legalizing drugs of unknown physical impact. | |
| 1973 | R | D | D | Nixon creates the DEA | ||
| 1976 | R | D | D | Coordinated action is necessary to end the vicious cycle of drug addiction and crime. We must break up organized crime syndicates dealing in drugs, take necessary action to get drug pushers off the streets, provide drug users with effective rehabilitation programs, including medical assistance, ensure that all young people are aware of the costs of a life of drug dependency, and use worldwide efforts to stop international production and trafficking in illicit drugs. | Heroin continues to come across our borders. Drug enforcement agents and international cooperation must cut off this supply. We say: Treat the addicts, but, at the same time, remove the pushers from the street and give them mandatory sentences. | Carter campaigs on legalizing marijuana |
| 1980 | D | D | D | Alcoholism and drug abuse are unique illnesses which not only impair the health of those who abuse those products, but impose costs on society as a whole—in production losses, in crimes to supply habits, and in fatalities on the highway. . . We must reduce the availability of heroin and other illicit narcotics in this country and in the source countries. | Republican government will work with local law enforcement agencies to apprehend and firmly punish drug pushers and drug smugglers with mandatory sentences where appropriate. We support efforts to crack down on the sale and advertising of drug paraphernalia. Private, nonprofit drug abuse rehabilitation agencies have taken the lead in fighting drug abuse, and they deserve greater cooperation and flexibility from federal, state, and local agencies and grant programs. | |
| 1984 | R | D | R | For this reason, the Democratic Party believes it is essential to make narcotics control a high priority on the national agenda, and a major consideration in our dealings with producer and transshipment countries, particularly if they are recipients of U.S. assistance. | Nancy Reagan launches “Just Say No” anti-drug campaign | |
| 1986 | R | D | R | Reagan signs Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. Creates minimum mandatories for drug offenses |
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| 1988 | R | D | D | WE BELIEVE that illegal drugs pose a direct threat to the security of our nation from coast to coast, invading our neighborhoods, classrooms, homes and communities large and small; that every arm and agency of government at every federal, state and local level—including every useful diplomatic, military, educational, medical and law enforcement effort necessary—should at long last be mobilized and coordinated with private efforts under the direction of a National Drug “Czar” to halt both the international supply and the domestic demand for illegal drugs now ravaging our country; and that the legalization of illicit drugs would represent a tragic surrender in a war we intend to win. | The drug epidemic didn’t just happen. It was fueled by the liberal attitudes of the 1960s and 1970s that tolerated drug usage. Drug abuse directly threatens the fabric of our society. . . The Republican Party unequivocally opposes legalizing or de-criminalizing any illicit drug. . . User accountability for drug usage is long overdue. Conviction for any drug crime should make the offender ineligible for discretionary federal assistance, grants, loans, and contracts for a period of time. . . We know the most powerful deterrent to drug abuse: strong, stable family life, along with the absolute approach summed up in “Just Say No.” | |
| 1989 | R | D | D | Bush creates first Drug Czar | ||
| 1992 | R | D | D | We will expand drug counselling and treatment for those who need it, intensify efforts to educate our children at the earliest ages to the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse, and curb demand from the street corner to the penthouse suite, so that the U.S., with five percent of the world’s population, no longer consumes 50 percent of the world’s illegal drugs. | The Republican Party is committed to a drug- free America. During the last twelve years, we have radically reversed the Democrats’ attitude of tolerance toward narcotics, vastly increased federal operations against drugs, cleaned up the military, and launched mandatory testing for employees in various fields, including White House personnel. . . Dope is no longer trendy. . . We oppose legalizing or decriminalizing drugs. . . Drug users must face punishment, including fines and imprisonment, for contributing to the demand that makes the drug trade profitable. Among possible sanctions should be the loss of government assistance and suspension of drivers’ licenses. | |
| 1996 | D | R | R | We established innovative drug courts which force drug users to get treatment or go to jail. We stood firm against Republican efforts to gut the Safe and Drug Free Schools effort that supports successful drug-education programs like D.A.R.E. | For in the war on drugs – an essential component of the fight against crime – today’s Democratic Party has been a conscientious objector. Nowhere is the discrepancy between Bill Clinton’s rhetoric and his actions more apparent. . . Simultaneously, the use of marijuana, cocaine, and heroin has increased, especially among young people. Now narcotics are again fueling the acceleration of crime rates, putting the nation on a collision course with the future. . . We support strong penalties, including mandatory minimum sentences, for drug trafficking, distribution and drug-related crimes. | |
| 2000 | R | R | R | We should send a strong message to every American child: drugs are wrong, and drugs can kill you. We need to dry up drug demand, hold up drugs at the border, and break up the drug rings that are spreading poison on our streets. We should open more drug courts, to speed justice for drug-related crimes; double the number of drug hot-spots where we aggressively target our enforcement efforts; expand drug treatment for at-risk youth; and make sure that all of our school zones are drug-free zones – by stiffening the penalties to those who would use children to peddle drugs, and those who would sell drugs anywhere near our schools. We know that to dry up drug demand, we must provide drug treatment upon demand. | Since 1992, among 10th graders, overall drug use has increased 55 percent, marijuana and hashish use has risen 91 percent, heroin use has gone up 92 percent, and cocaine use has soared 133 percent. . . We will bring accountability to anti-drug programs, promote those that work, and cease funding for those that waste resources. Equally important, in a Republican administration the Department of Justice will require all federal prosecutors to aggressively pursue drug dealers, from the kingpins to the lackeys. We renew our support for capital punishment for drug traffickers who take innocent life. | |
| 2004 | R | R | R | We will crack down on the gang violence and drug crime that devastate so many communities, and we will increase drug treatment, including mandatory drug courts and mandatory drug testing for parolees and probationers, so fewer crimes are committed in the first place. | Drug abuse and addiction ruin lives. There can be no debate about it. Every adult has a responsibility to teach children about the dangers of drugs – in terms of both physical harm and potential death, as well as lost opportunities for success. . . To continue this progress, we must ensure that jail time is used as an effective deterrent to drug use and support the continued funding of grants to assist schools in drug testing. At the same time, we should make drug treatment available to people willing to take the courageous step of admitting they have a problem and working hard to overcome it. | |
| 2008 | R | D | D | The human toll of drug addiction and abuse hits all segments of American society. It is an international problem as well, with most of the narcotics in this country coming from beyond our borders. We will continue the fight against producers, traffickers, and distributors of illegal substances through the collaboration of state, federal, and local law enforcement. | ||
| 2012 | D | R | D | |||