The war on drugs multiplied federal drug prosecutions by over 270 percent.

Evidence

A similar pattern can be seen in criminal cases. During the 1980s, concern about the influx of cocaine and other illegal drugs into the United States led President Ronald Reagan to announce a “war on drugs” to deal with the problem. By devoting more funds and personnel to the interdiction of drugs and the enforcement of drug laws, the federal government increased its number of drug arrests and thus the number of drug cases heard in district courts. Over the decade, the criminal workload of the district courts increased 50 percent, but drug cases increased more than 270 percent. But federal cases involving drug trafficking and use have declined almost 20 percent since 2013. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 339