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In late 1960s recreational drug use becomes fashionable among young, white,middle class Americans. The social stigmatization previously associated withdrugs lessens as their use becomes more mainstream. Drug use becomesrepresentative of protest and social rebellion in the era's atmosphere ofpolitical unrest.

The Johnson administration consolidates several drug agencies into the JusticeDept.'s Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (BNDD). The move is intended todiminish turf wars between the various agencies, but tensions between the BNDDand Customs continue.

PsychiatristDr. Robert DuPont conducts urinalysis of everyone enteringthe D.C. jail system in August of 1969. He finds 44% test positive for heroin.DuPont convinces the city's Mayor Walter Washington to allow him to providemethadone to heroin addicts.

In an attempt to reduce marijuana smuggling from Mexico, the Customs Dept.,under CommissionerMyles Ambrose, subjects every vehicle crossing theMexican border to a three-minute inspection. The operation lasts two weeks andwreaks economic havoc on both sides of the border. Mexico agrees to moreaggressively attack marijuana trade, but the operation didn't seriously impactthe flow of marijuana into U.S.

The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) is foundedby Keith Stroup. The group lobbies for decriminalization of marijuana.

The Nixon administration provides funds to allowDr. Robert DuPont toexpand his methadone program in Washington D.C. The program is controversialbecause some believe methadone to be nothing more than a substitute for heroin,and others feel there are racial undertones behind the effort. However, oneyear after the program begins, burglaries in D.C. decrease by 41%.

At a press conference Nixon names drug abuse as "public enemy number one in theUnited States." He announces the creation of the Special Action Office forDrug Abuse Prevention (SAODAP), to be headed byDr. Jerome Jaffe, aleading methadone treatment specialist. During the Nixon era, for the onlytime in the history of the war on drugs, the majority of funding goes towardstreatment, rather than law enforcement.

In June 1971, the U.S. military announces they will begin urinalysis of allreturning servicemen. The program goes into effect in September and theresults are favorable: only 4.5% of the soldiers test positive for heroin.

The Nixon Administration creates the Office of Drug Abuse Law Enforcement(ODALE) to establish joint federal/local task forces to fight the drug trade atthe street level.Myles Ambrose is appointed director.

U.S. and French law enforcement initiate a series of successful busts of the"French Connection," a Marseilles-based heroin industry controlled by Corsicangangsters and the U.S. Mafia. The results are soon evident in a heroinshortage on the U.S. East Coast.

President Nixon sets up this "super agency" to handle all aspects of the drugproblem. The DEA consolidates agents from the BNDD, Customs, the CIA and ODALE. The administrator of the new agency is John R. Bartels.

The new Ford administration is preoccupied with inflation, jobs and an energycrisis. The DEA remains the legacy of Nixon's war on drugs.

The Domestic Council Drug Abuse Task Force releases a report that recommendsthat "priority in Federal efforts in both supply and demand reduction bedirected toward those drugs which inherently pose a greater risk to theindividual and to society." The White Paper names marijuana a "low prioritydrug" in contrast to heroin, amphetamines and mixed barbiturates.

Colombian police seize 600 kilos of cocaine from a small plane at the Caliairport--the largest cocaine seizure to date. In response, drug traffickersbegin a vendetta--"Medellin Massacre." 40 people die in Medellin on oneweekend. This event signals the new power of Colombia's cocaine industry,headquartered in Medellin.

Noting that several states had already decriminalized marijuana, Jimmy Cartercampaigns in favor of relinquishing federal criminal penalties for possessionof up to one ounce of marijuana. Carter's drug czar,Dr. Peter Bournedoes not view marijuana, or even cocaine, as a serious public health threat.

Troubled by the presence of marijuana at her 13-year old daughter's birthdayparty, Keith Schuchard and her neighbor Sue Rusche form Families in Action, thefirst parents' organization designed to fight teenage drug abuse. Schuchardwrites a letter toDr. Robert DuPont, then head of the NationalInstitute of Drug Abuse, which leads DuPont to abandon his support fordecriminalization.

A May 30, 1977Newsweek story on cocaine is later accused to haveglamorized the drug's affects and underestimated its dangers. The storyreports that "Among hostesses in the smart sets of Los Angeles and New York, alittle cocaine, like Dom Perignon and Beluga caviar, is nowde rigueurat dinners. Some partygivers pass it around along with the canapes on silvertrays... the user experiences a feeling of potency, of confidence, of energy."

The Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act is amended. It nowallows law enforcement toseize all money and/or "other things of valuefurnished or intended to be furnished by any person in exchange for acontrolled substance [and] all proceeds traceable to such an exchange."

Carlos Lehder, a key member of the alliance that would become the Medellincartel, revolutionizes the cocaine trade with his purchase of 165 acres on theBahamian island ofNorman's Cay. Lehder is the first to use smallplanes for transporting the drug. He uses the island as a hub for planes torefuel between Colombia and the U.S.

Drug traffickersGeorge Jung andCarlos Toro describe life on Norman's Cay.

A deadly shootout between Colombian traffickers in broad daylight at Miami'sDadeland Mall brings the savagery of the Colombian cocaine lords to theattention of U.S. law enforcement.

The alliance between theOchoa family, Pablo Escobar, Carlos Lehder and JoseGonzalo Rodriguez Gacha strengthens into what will become known as the"Medellin Cartel." The traffickers cooperate in the manufacturing,distribution and marketing of their cocaine. The kidnapping of Marta Ochoa byColombian guerrillas consolidates the alliance. The traffickers form a groupnamed MAS, a Spanish acronym for "Death to Kidnappers," announcing the imminentexecution of any guerrilla kidnappers. Marta Ochoa is released without harmseveral months later.

The U.S. and Colombia ratify a bilateral extradition treaty, which they hadpreviously approved in 1979. When Reagan assumes office and prioritizes thewar on drugs, extradition becomes the greatest fear of the Colombian traffickers.

In response to U.S. pressure, the Bahamian government begins to crack down onCarlos Lehder's operation onNorman's Cay. Lehder moves his residence fromthe island in 1982, but operations continue for another year.

Panamanian General Manuel Noriega and Pablo Escobar cut a deal which allowsEscobar to ship cocaine through Panama for $100,000 per load. The two had metin 1981 when Noriega mediated negotiations for the release of Marta Ochoa.

Outraged by the drug trade's increasing violence in their city, Miami citizenslobby the federal government for help. Reagan responds by creating acabinet-level task force, the Vice President's Task Force on South Florida.Headed by George Bush, it combines agents from the DEA, Customs, FBI, ATF, IRS,Army and Navy to mobilize against drug traffickers. Reagan later create sseveral other regional task forces throughout the U.S.

Escobar cultivates an image of "Robin Hood" by building low-income housing,handing out money in Medellin slums and appearing throughout the cityaccompanied by Catholic priests. Escobar is elected an alternaterepresentative from Envigado, but he's driven out of Congress in 1983 byColombia's crusading Minister of Justice, Rodrigo Lara Bonilla.

The seizure of 3,906 pounds of cocaine, valued at over $100 million wholesale,from a Miami International Airport hangar permanently alters U.S. lawenforcement's approach towards the drug trade. They realize Colombiantraffickers must be working together because no single trafficker could bebehind a shipment this large.

Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" anti-drug campaign becomes a centerpiece of theReagan administration's anti-drug campaign. The movement focuses on white,middle class children and is funded by corporate and private donations.

By tracking the illegal sale of massive amounts of ether to Colombia, the DEAand Colombian police discover Tranquilandia, a laboratory operation deep in theColombian jungle. In the subsequent bust, law enforcement officials destroy 14laboratory complexes, which contains 13.8 metric tons of cocaine, 7 airplanes,and 11,800 drums of chemicals, conservatively estimated at $1.2 billion. Thisbust confirms the consolidation of the Medellin cartel's manufacturing operation.

Retired DEA agent Bill Alden,Jorge Ochoa andJuan David Ochoa describe the effects of the Tranquilandia bust.

Colombian Minister of Justice Rodrigo Lara Bonilla, who had crusaded againstthe Medellin cartel, is assassinated by a gang of motorcycle thugs. PresidentBelisario Betancur who opposed extradiction, announces "We will extraditeColombians." Carlos Lehder is the first to be put on the list. The crackdownforces the Ochoas, Escobar and Rodriguez Gacha to flee to Panama for several months. A few months later, Escobaris indicted for Lara Bonilla's murder and names the Ochoas and Rodriguez Gachaas material witnesses.

Jorge andJuan David Ochoa speak about Lara Bonilla's assassination and the resulting controversy over extradition.

TheWashington Times runs a story which details DEA informant BarrySeal's successful infiltration into the Medellin cartel's operations in Panama.The story was leaked byOliver North show the Nicaraguan Sandanistas'involvement in the drug trade. Ten days later, Carlos Lehder, Pablo Escobar,Jorge Ochoa and Jose Gonzalo Rodriguez Gacha are indicted by a Miami federalgrand jury based on evidence obtained by Seal. In february 1986, Seal isassassinated in Baton Rouge by gunmen hired by the cartel.

Read the interview withFernando Arenas, a pilot for Carlos Lehder, who claims theOchoas had Barry Seal killed.

Escobar, Gacha,Juan David and Fabio Ochoa are all spotted in Medellin,signaling the end of the government crackdown. The cartel begins to regain itscommand over the city.

The DEA and Mexican officials raid a large marijuana cultivation and processingcomplex in the Chihuahua desert owned by kingpin Rafael Caro Quintero. 7000campesinos work at the complex, where between 5000-10,000 tons of high-grademarijuana worth $2.5 billion is found and destroyed.Time magazinecalls this "the bust of the century" and it reveals the existence of Mexico'ssophisticated marijuana smuggling industry.

Spanish police arrestJorge Ochoa on a U.S. warrant and both the U.S. andColombia apply for his extradition. The Medellin cartel publicly threatens tomurder 5 Americans for every Colombian extradition. The Spanish courtsultimately rule in favor of Colombia's request and Ochoa is deported. He servesa month in jail on charges of bull-smuggling before he is parolled.

Colombia extradites four drug traffickers to Miami. Within days, the U.S.becomes aware of a Medellin cartel "hit list" which includes embassy members,their families, U.S. businessmen and journalists.

Because of the South Florida Drug Task Force's successful cracdown on drugstraffickers turn to Mexican marijuana smugglers to move cocaine across the 2000mile U.S.-Mexican border. By the mid-1980s it becomes the major transportationroute for cocaine into the U.S.

Camarena's disappearance spotlights the pervasive drug corruption in Mexicanlaw enforcement. The Mexicans' lack of cooperation leads Commissioner ofCustoms William Von Raab to order a six-day Operation Intercept-style crackdownon the Mexican border. Camarena's body is found within a week of the borderclosing, but evidence of a coverup by Mexican officials is clear.

FormerDEA Administrator Jack Lawn speaks about the Camarena affair.

Bogota Superior Court Judge Tulio Manuel Castro Gil, who had indictedEscobar for the murder of Lara Bonilla, is assassinated as he climbs into ataxi. Throughout 1985 judicial harassment and intimidation becomes commonplacein Colombia.

Upping the ante in the battle against extradition, guerillas linked to theMedellin cartel attack the Colombian Palace of Justice. At least 95 people arekilled in the 26-hour siege, including 11 Supreme Court justices. Many courtdocuments, including all pending extradition requests, are destroyed by fire.

Crack, a potent form of smokeable cocaine developed in the early 1980s, beginsto flourish in the New York region. A November 1985New York Timescover story brings the drug to national attention. Crack is cheap andpowerfully addictive and it devastates inner city neighborhoods.

Former DEAAgent Bob Stutman and former dealer"Paul" detail the impact of crack on New York.

The death of promising college basketball star Len Bias from a cocaine overdosestuns the nation. Ensuing media reports highlight the health risks of cocaine;drugs become a hot political issue.

Reagan signs an enormous omnibus drug bill, which appropriates $1.7 billion tofight the drug crisis. $97 million is allocated to build new prisons, $200million for drug education and $241 million for treatment. The bill's most consequential action is the creation ofmandatory minimumpenalties for drug offenses. Possession of at least one kilogram of heroin orfive kilograms of cocaine is punishable by at least ten years in prison. Inresponse to the crack epidemic, the sale of five grams of the drug leads to amandatory five-year sentence. Mandatory minimums become increasinglycriticized over the years for promoting significant racial disparities in theprison population, because of the differences in sentencing for crack vs.powder cocaine.

A U.S. federal grand jury in Miami releases the indictment of theOchoas, PabloEscobar, Carlos Lehder and Jose Gonzalo Rodriguez Gacha under the RICO statute.The indictment names the Medellin cartel as the largest cocaine smugglingorganization in the world.

Guillermo Cano Isaza, editor-in-chief ofEl Espectador isassassinated while driving home from work. Cano frequently wrote in favor ofstiffer penalties for drug traffickers. His murder leads to a national outragecomparable to the assassination of Lara Bonilla, and a subsequent governmentcrackdown on traffickers.

Carlos Lehder is captured by the Colombian National Police at a safe houseowned by Pablo Escobar in the mountains outside of Medellin. He is extraditedto the U.S. the next day. On May 19, 1988 Lehder is convicted of drugsmuggling and sentenced to life in prison without parole, plus an additional135 years.

On May 28, the Colombian Supreme Court, having endured a barrage of personalthreats from the traffickers, rules by a vote of 13-12 to annul the extraditiontreaty with the US.

Ochoa is held in prison on the bull-smuggling charge for which he wasextradited from Spain. Twenty-four hours later a gang of thugs arrive at thehouse of Juan Gomez Martinez, the editor of Medellin's daily newspaperElColombiano. They present Martinez with a communique signed by"TheExtraditables," which threatens execution of Colombian political leaders ifOchoa is extradited. On December 30, Ochoa is released under dubious legalcircumstances. In January 1988, the murder of Colombian Attorney GeneralCarlos Mauro Hoyos is claimed by the Extraditables.

At a 1988 meeting, President-elect Bush tells President-elect Salinas hemust prove to the U.S. Congress that he is cooperating in the drug war--aprocess called certification. The U.S. pressures Mexico to arrest Miguel AngelFelix Gallardo, the drug lord believed to have been responsible for the murderof DEA Agent Enrique Camarena.

A federal grand jury in Miami issues an indictment against Panamanian GeneralManuel Noriega for drug trafficking. Noriega had allowed the Medellin cartelto launder money and build cocaine laboratories in Panama.

Fernando Arenas, one of Carlos Lehder's pilots, describes Noriega's involvement with the cartel.

President Bush appoints William Bennett to lead the new Office of National DrugControl Policy (ONDCP). As drug 'czar' he campaigns to make drug abusesocially unacceptable, an approach he calls denormalization. Federal spendingon treatment and law enforcement increase under Bennett's tenure, but treatmentremains less than 1/3 of the total budget.

On the eve of the Mexican presidential election between Carlos Salinas andCuahtemoc Cardenas, two key Cardenas aides are found shot to death in MexicoCity. The two had been responsible for ensuring that the elections would beclean and fair. It is widely believed that Cardenas actually won the electionand that vote fraud by the PRI was responsible for Salinas' election.

Guillermo Gonzalez Calderoni leads a team of federal agents whoarrest the drug lord in a residential suburb of Guadalajara. Gallardo isimprisoned on charges relating to Enrique Camarena's kidnapping and murder.His nephews,the Arellano-Felix brothers inherit part of hisdrug-trafficking empire.

A congressional subcommittee on Narcotics, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy,chaired by Senator John Kerry (D-MA), finds that U.S. efforts to combat drugtrafficking were undermined by the Reagan administration's fear of jeopardizingits objectives in the Nicaraguan civil war. The report concludes that theadministration ignored evidence of drug trafficking by the Contras andcontinued to provide them with aid.

Luis Carlos Galan, a presidential candidate who spoke in favor ofextradition, is assassinated at a campaign rally near Bogota. That evening,President Virgilio Barco Vargas issues an emergency decree reestablishing thepolicy of extradition. In response, the'Extraditables' declare all-out waragainst the Colombian government, and begin bombing/murder campaign that wouldlast until January 1991.

Jose Gonzalo Rodriguez Gacha is killed by Colombian police in a raid on hisranch in Tolu.

For 22 days, General Manuel Noriega eludes capture by the U.S. Military. Afterseeking asylum in the Vatican embassy he eventually surrenders to the DEA onJanuary 3, 1990 in Panama and is brought to Miami the next day. On July 10,1992 Noriega is convicted on eight counts of drug rafficking, money launderingand racketeering, and sentenced to 40 years in federal prison.

President Bush proposes to add an additional $1.2 billion to the budget for thewar on drugs, including a 50% increase in military spending.

Colombian President Cesar Gaviria Trujillo offers the traffickers reducedprison sentences to be served in Colombia, in order to entice them tosurrender. All threeOchoa brothers surrender to the Colombianpolice by January 1991.

In a secret vote, the Colombian assembly votes 51-13 to ban extradition in anew Constitution, to take effect July 5. The same day Pablo Escobar surrendersto Colombian police.

While attempting to stop an air shipment of Colombian cocaine, Mexican FederalPolice are killed by Mexican army members, in the pay of the traffickers.Embarrassed, President Salinas orders an investigation, which results in theimprisonment of a Mexican General. He is quietly released several months later.

Retired Customs Service Special Agent John Hensley describes the attack on the police and the response by the Mexican government.

The regulations limit the number of agents in Mexico, designate certain citiesin which they must live, deny the officers diplomatic immunity, require allinformation to be turned over to Mexican authorities, and prohibit agents tocarry weapons.

Cardinal Juan Posadas Ocampo, the archbishop of Guadalajara, is assassinated atthe Guadalajara airport by San Diego gang members hired by theArellano-FelixOrganization to kill a rival trafficker.

President Clinton signs the North American Free Trade Agreement, which resultsin an enormous increase in legitimate trade across the U.S.-Mexican border.The volume of trade makes it more difficult for U.S. Customs officials to findnarcotics hidden within legitimate goods.

Pablo Escobar is finally hunted down by the Colombian police with the aid ofU.S. technology. The technology could recognize Escobar's voice on a cellphone and give police an estimated location of where he is. They find his safehouse and kill Escobar as he attempts to flee with one of his bodyguards.

The U.S. Sentencing Commission, which administers federal sentencingguidelines, releases a report which notes the racial disparities in cocaine vs.crack sentencing. The commission proposes reducing the discrepancy, but for thefirst time in history, Congress overrides their recommendation.

In a series of arrests during the summer of 1995, five leaders of theCalicartel are captured. The Cali cartel had become the most powerfuldrug-trafficking organization in Colombia after the dismantling of the Medellincartel. By September 1996, all of the Cali kingpins are imprisoned.

In his State of the Union address, President Clinton nominatesArmy GeneralBarry McCaffrey, a veteran of Vietnam and Desert Storm, as director of ONDCP.Two days later, the appointment is confirmed by the Senate without debate.

Juan David andJorge Luis Ochoa are released after serving five-year prisonsentences for drug trafficking in July. Later, their younger brother FabioOchoa is also released.

A federal grand jury in San Diego indictsRamon Arellano-Felix on charges ofdrug smuggling. The same day, he is added to the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List.

Operation Casablanca, the largest money-laundering probe in U.S. history, leadsto the indictment of 3 Mexican and 4 Venezuelan banks, and 167 individualarrests. Mexico and Venezuela are furious over the undercover operation, whichthey consider a threat to their national sovereignty.John Hensleyoversaw the operation for the U.S. Customs Service.

As a result of Mexico's anger about U.S. actions in Operation Casablanca,Attorneys General Janet Reno and Jorge Madrazo Cuellar draft the BrownsvilleAgreement. Both nations pledge to inform each other about sensitivecross-border law enforcement operations.

Retired Customs Service Special Agent describes the frustration some law enforcment personnel have with the restrictions imposed by the Brownsville Agreement.

In a series of raids named "Operation Millennium," law enforcement in Mexico,Colombia and Ecuador arrest 31 for drug trafficking, including Fabio Ochoa.Ochoa is indicted in a Ft. Lauderdale court for importing cocaine into the U.S.The U.S. requests his extradition in December 1999.

TheArellano-Felix brothers are charged with 10 counts of drug trafficking,conspiracy, money laundering and aiding and abetting violent crimes. The U.S.State Department offers a $2 million reward for information leading to theirarrest and conviction.

To assist Colombian President Andres Pastrana's $7.5 billionPlan Colombia,President Clinton delivers $1.3 billion in U.S. aid to fund 60 combathelicopters and training for the Colombian military, among other initiatives.