DEA History

President Richard Nixon created the Drug Enforcement Administration through an Executive Order in July 1973. DEA was created in order to establish a single unified command to combat "an all-out global war on the drug menace."

DEA started with 1,470 Special Agents and a budget of less than $75 million. In 1974, the DEA had 43 foreign offices in 31 countries. In 2009, the DEA had 5,233 Special Agents, a budget of more than $2.6 billion, and 87 foreign offices in 63 countries.

Learn more about DEA’s history by scrolling through the timeline below.

1915 1933 1968 1970 1973 1982 1984 1985 1987 1999 2005 2006 2008

  • The tradition of federal drug law enforcement begins with the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

  • Elizabeth Bass is appointed the first of many female narcotics agents in the United States.

  • The Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (BNDD) is created by merging the Bureau of Narcotics with the Bureau of Drug Abuse Control, and is placed under the Department of Justice narcotics agents in the United States.

  • Congress passes the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), Title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970.

  • DEA is created to deal with America's growing drug problem.

  • DEA joins forces with the FBI to bolster the effort with more anti-drug manpower and resources.

  • Congress passes an amendment to the CSA to address new problems in the rapidly changing world of drugs.

  • Special Agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena is kidnapped and murdered while on assignment in Mexico. His murder leads to the most comprehensive homicide investigation ever undertaken by DEA, and inspires Red Ribbon Week.

  • DEA establishes the Demand Reduction Section to provide leadership, coordination, and resources for drug prevention and education.

  • The DEA Museum and Visitors Center officially opens at DEA headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.

  • The first major drug smuggling tunnel known to run between the United States and Canada is shut down.

  • President George W. Bush declares November 30, 2006 National Methamphetamine Awareness Day–the largest single nationwide effort warning against the dangers of using meth.

  • A member of an Afghan Taliban cell is convicted on charges of narcotics distribution and narco-terrorism—the first U.S. federal court narco-terrorism conviction.

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Learn more about DEA's history here.

To learn more about the DEA’s history and mission, plan a trip to the DEA Museum and Visitors Center in Arlington, Virginia.