View source for Drug Enforcement Administration

{{Short description|United States federal law enforcement agency}}
{{Redirect|DEA}}
{{Distinguish|text=the [[Food and Drug Administration]]}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2013}}
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| logocaption       = Drug Enforcement Administration's seal
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| formed            = {{Start date and age|1973|7|1}}
| preceding1        = [[Federal Bureau of Narcotics]]
| preceding2        = [[Bureau of Drug Abuse Control]]
| preceding3        = [[Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs]]
| preceding4        = [[Office of Drug Abuse Law Enforcement]]
| preceding5        = [[Office of National Narcotics Intelligence]]
| dissolved         = 
| superseding       = 
| employees         = 9,848 (2021)
| volunteers        = 
| budget            = US$3.28 billion 
<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dea.gov/data-and-statistics/staffing-and-budget|title=Staffing and Budget|website=www.dea.gov|access-date=March 31, 2022|archive-date=April 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408195838/https://www.dea.gov/data-and-statistics/staffing-and-budget|url-status=live}}</ref>
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| headquarters      = [[Arlington County, Virginia]], U.S.<ref name=SernovitzDaniel>{{cite web|last=Sernovitz|first=Daniel J.|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2018/09/12/dea-recommits-to-pentagon-city.html|title=DEA commits to Pentagon City for another 15 years|newspaper=[[Washington Business Journal]]|date=September 12, 2018|accessdate=June 24, 2023}}</ref><!--Springfield is just a mailing address: {{cite web|url=https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-II/part-1321/section-1321.01|title=§ 1321.01 DEA mailing addresses.|publisher=[[ECFR]]|accessdate=2023-06-24|quote=Drug Enforcement Administration, Attn: Administrator, 8701 Morrissette Drive, Springfield, VA 22152. }}-->
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| sworntype         = [[Special Agent]]
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| minister1pfo      = 
| chief1name        = [[Derek S. Maltz]] (Acting) 
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The '''Drug Enforcement Administration''' ('''DEA''') is a [[Federal law enforcement in the United States|United States federal law enforcement agency]] under the [[U.S. Department of Justice]] tasked with combating illicit [[Illegal drug trade|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]] and [[U.S. Customs and Border Protection]]. The DEA is responsible for coordinating and pursuing U.S. drug investigations both domestically and internationally.

It was established in 1973 as part of the U.S. government's [[War on Drugs|war on drugs]]. The DEA has an [[DEA Office of National Security Intelligence|intelligence unit]] that is also a member of the [[U.S. Intelligence Community]]. While the unit is part of the DEA chain-of-command, it also reports to the [[Director of National Intelligence|director of national intelligence]]. The DEA has been criticized for scheduling drugs that have medicinal uses, and for focusing on operations that allow it to seize money rather than those involving drugs that cause more harm.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}

==History and mandate==
The Drug Enforcement Administration was established on July 1, 1973,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2021-04/1970-1975_p_30-39_0.pdf |title=The DEA Years |website=www.dea.gov}}</ref> by Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1973, signed by [[President of the United States|President]] [[Richard Nixon]] on July 28.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://resources.learningforlife.org/exploring/scholarships/pdf/dea.pdf |work=Learning for Life |title=Drug Enforcement Administration: Drug Abuse Prevention Service Award |access-date=October 9, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161020143354/http://resources.learningforlife.org/exploring/scholarships/pdf/dea.pdf |archive-date=October 20, 2016 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> It proposed the creation of a single [[List of federal agencies in the United States|federal agency]] to enforce the [[federal drug laws]] as well as consolidate and coordinate the government's [[Prohibition of drugs|drug control]] activities. [[United States Congress|Congress]] accepted the proposal, as they were concerned with the growing availability of drugs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.deamuseum.org/dea_history_book/1970_1975.htm|title=History of the DEA: 1970 – 1975|publisher=deamuseum.org DEA museum|access-date=April 30, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070928044643/http://www.deamuseum.org/dea_history_book/1970_1975.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = September 28, 2007}}</ref> As a result, the [[Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs]] (BNDD), the [[Office of Drug Abuse Law Enforcement]] (ODALE); approximately 600 Special Agents of the Bureau of Customs, Customs Agency Service, and other federal offices merged to create the DEA.<ref name=pbs>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/dope/etc/cron.html|title=Marijuana Timeline|access-date=April 23, 2007|publisher=[[Public Broadcasting Service]]|archive-date=July 9, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140709101022/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/dope/etc/cron.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The DEA is the primary federal agency charged with implementing and enforcing the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), which is Title II of a larger Federal Act called the [[Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970]]. The DEA is responsible for drugs listed in the CSA's five drug Schedules, categories that rank drugs by their potential for harm, and whether they have a medical use. The CSA seeks to ensure legitimate access to controlled pharmaceuticals, while preventing illicit use of controlled drugs. To these ends, the DEA implements two intersecting legal schemes created by the CSA, ''registration'' provisions for entities involved in legal activities, violations of which are not usually criminal offenses, and ''trafficking'' provisions for illegal activities, violations of which are criminal offenses.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lampe |first=Joanna R. |date=January 19, 2023 |title=The Controlled Substances Act (CSA): A Legal Overview for the 118th Congress |url=https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/r/r45948 |access-date=May 11, 2024 |website=[[Congressional Research Service]]}}</ref>

From the early 1970s, DEA headquarters was located at 1405 I ("Eye") Street NW in downtown Washington, D.C. With the overall growth of the agency in the 1980s (owing to the increased emphasis on federal drug law enforcement efforts) and concurrent growth in the headquarters staff, the DEA began to search for a new headquarters location; locations in [[Arkansas]], [[Mississippi]] and various abandoned military bases around the United States were considered. However, then–[[United States Attorney General|attorney general]] [[Edwin Meese]] determined that the headquarters had to be located close to the attorney general's office. Thus, in 1989, the headquarters relocated to 600–700 Army-Navy Drive in the [[Pentagon City, Arlington, Virginia|Pentagon City]] area of Arlington County, Virginia, near the eponymous [[Pentagon City station|Metro station]].<ref>{{cite web |title=DEA History Book, 1985–1990 |url=http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/history/1985-1990.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080622214536/http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/history/1985-1990.html |archive-date=June 22, 2008 |publisher=[[United States Department of Justice]] |access-date=August 31, 2011}}</ref>

[[File:DEA badge.PNG|thumb|left|150px|Drug Enforcement Administration 25th Anniversary badge]]

On April 19, 1995, [[Timothy McVeigh]] carried out a terrorist attack on the [[Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building]] in [[Oklahoma City]]. He was targeting regional offices for the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI), [[Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives]] (ATF) and DEA, all of which had carried out raids that he viewed as unjustified intrusions on the rights of the people.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Michel, Lou |author2=Herbeck, Dan|title=American Terrorist|year=2001|publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=9780060394073|url=https://archive.org/details/americanterroris00loum |url-access=registration }}</ref> This attack caused the deaths of two DEA employees, one task force member and two contractors in the [[Oklahoma City bombing]]. Subsequently, the DEA headquarters complex was classified as a Level IV installation under [[United States federal building security]] standards, meaning it was to be considered a high-risk law enforcement target for terrorists.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Smith|first1=Joseph|title=Anti-Terrorism: Criteria, Tools & Technology|url=http://www.protectiveglazing.org/resources/Anti-Terrorism%20-%20Criteria,%20Tools%20and%20Technology.pdf |website=Protective Glazing|publisher=Applied Research Associates, Inc.|access-date=1 October 2014|date=2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130918143729/http://www.protectiveglazing.org/resources/Anti-Terrorism%20-%20Criteria%2C%20Tools%20and%20Technology.pdf |archive-date=September 18, 2013|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Security measures include hydraulic steel roadplates to enforce [[standoff distance]] from the building, metal detectors and guard stations.<ref>{{cite web |title=The DEA museum |url=http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/1797.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119062135/http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/1797.html |archive-date=January 19, 2012 |magazine=Cannabis Culture Magazine |date=December 15, 2009 |access-date=August 31, 2011 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

In February 2003, the DEA established a Digital Evidence Laboratory within its Office of Forensic Sciences.<ref name=History>{{cite web |title=1999–2003 |url=http://www.dea.gov/pubs/history/1999-2003.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070526082104/http://www.dea.gov/pubs/history/1999-2003.html |archive-date=May 26, 2007 |publisher=DEA |access-date=June 3, 2007 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

== Organization ==
[[File:Drug Enforcement Administration.svg|thumb|500px|right|Map of the 21 DEA domestic field divisions: 1. Chicago, 2. Detroit, 3. Atlanta, 4. Dallas, 5. Denver, 6. Boston, 7. El Paso, 8. Houston, 9. Los Angeles, 10. Miami, 11. Newark, 12. New Orleans, 13. New York, 14. Philadelphia, 15. Phoenix, 16. San Diego, 17. San Francisco, 18. Seattle, 19. St. Louis, 20. Caribbean (San Juan, Puerto Rico), 21. Washington, D.C.]]

The DEA is headed by an [[administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration]] appointed by the president of the United States and confirmed by the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]]. The Administrator reports to the [[United States Attorney General|attorney general]] through the [[United States Deputy Attorney General|deputy attorney general]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/08aug20051500/edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2005/julqtr/pdf/28cfr0.102.pdf |publisher=Department of Justice |title=Title 28, C.F.R., Part 0.102 |page=57 |access-date=April 28, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070810114233/http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/08aug20051500/edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2005/julqtr/pdf/28cfr0.102.pdf |archive-date=August 10, 2007 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> The administrator is assisted by a deputy administrator, the chief of operations, the chief inspector, and three assistant administrators (for the Operations Support, Intelligence, and Human Resources divisions). Other senior staff includes the chief financial officer and the chief counsel. The administrator and deputy administrator are the only presidentially appointed personnel in the DEA; all other DEA officials are career government employees. DEA's headquarters is located in [[Arlington County, Virginia]], across from [[the Pentagon]]. It maintains its own DEA Academy located on the [[Marine Corps Base Quantico]] at [[Quantico, Virginia]], alongside the [[FBI Academy]]. {{As of|2024}}, it maintains 241 domestic offices in 23 divisions, and 93 foreign offices in 69 countries.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024 |title=Divisions |url=https://www.dea.gov/divisions |access-date=Feb 21, 2024 |website=Drug Enforcement Administration}}</ref> With a budget exceeding $3 billion, DEA employs 10,169 people, including 4,924 special agents and 800 intelligence analysts.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}{{Update inline|date=May 2024}}

{{Circa|2015}} its headquarters and the [[DEA Museum]] were in {{convert|503776|sqft|sqm}} in Lincoln Place, a rented office building in [[Pentagon City]] in [[Arlington County, Virginia]]. In September 2018 this lease was scheduled to end. The [[General Services Administration]] (GSA), circa 2015, was checking to see where in Northern Virginia the DEA could be headquartered.<ref>{{cite web|last=Sernovitz|first=Daniel J.|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/breaking_ground/2015/12/another-federal-agency-could-take-flight.html|title=GSA seeking new headquarters for the DEA in Northern Virginia|newspaper=[[Washington Business Journal ]]|date=2015-12-22|accessdate=2023-06-24}}</ref> In 2018 the government of the United States extended the lease at Lincoln Place, now to expire circa <!--2018 + 15 = 2033-->2033.<ref name=SernovitzDaniel/> The DEA administration favored retaining the original location.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2018/08/24/judge-issues-judgment-on-dea-headquarters.html|last=Sernovitz|first=Daniel J.|title=The DEA wants to stay in Pentagon City. Now, a federal judge has weighed in.|newspaper=[[Washington Business Journal ]]|date=2018-08-24|accessdate=2023-06-24}}</ref>

===Structure===
*Administrator
**Deputy Administrator
***Human Resource Division
****Career Board
****Board of Professional Conduct
****Office of Training
***Operations Division
****Aviation Division
****Office of Operations Management
****Special Operations Division
****Office of Diversion Control
****Office of Global Enforcement
****Office of Financial Operations
***Intelligence Division
****[[DEA Office of National Security Intelligence|Office of National Security Intelligence]] (ONSI)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:b647afb9-f5aa-4c52-9ee2-5083c0efaf31|title=DEA - ONSI Presidential Policy Directive #28|website=acrobat.adobe.com|access-date=March 31, 2022|archive-date=July 13, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220713040726/https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn%3Aaaid%3Ascds%3AUS%3Ab647afb9-f5aa-4c52-9ee2-5083c0efaf31|url-status=live}}</ref>
****Office of Strategic Intelligence
****Office of Special Intelligence
****[[El Paso Intelligence Center]]
****[[OCDETF]] [[Fusion Center]]
***Financial Management Division
****Office of Acquisition and Relocation Management
****Office of Finance
****Office of Resource Management
***Operational Support Division
****Office of Administration
****Office of Information System
****Office of Forensic Science
****Office of Investigative Technology
***Inspection Division
****Office of Inspections
****Office of Professional Responsibility
****Office of Security Programs
***Field Divisions and Offices

===Special agents===
[[File:Miguelrodriguez-extradition.png|thumb|DEA agents escort Colombian [[drug lord]] [[Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela]] after his extradition to the United States in 2005.]]

As of 2017, there were 4,650 special agents employed by the Drug Enforcement Administration. DEA agents' starting salary is $49,746–$55,483. After four years, the salary rises to above $92,592. This figure doesn’t include Cost of living allowance (COLA) or LEAP which rated at 25% of base pay including COLA. Special Agents at the 13 step 5 level in high cost of living areas of the United States make near the federal pay cap of $191,000.<ref>{{cite web|title=Top Careers for Students of Criminology and Criminal Justice|url=http://online.ccj.pdx.edu/resources/infographics/top-careers-for-students-of-criminology-and-criminal-justice-ig/|website=Portland State University|access-date=30 September 2014|archive-date=October 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019192344/http://online.ccj.pdx.edu/resources/infographics/top-careers-for-students-of-criminology-and-criminal-justice-ig/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

After receiving a conditional offer of employment, recruits must then complete an 18-week rigorous training which includes lessons in firearms proficiency (including basic marksmanship), weapons safety, tactical shooting, and deadly-force decision training. To graduate, students must maintain an academic average of 80 percent on academic examinations, pass the firearms qualification test, successfully demonstrate leadership and sound decision-making in practical scenarios, and pass rigorous physical-task tests. Upon graduation, recruits earn the title of DEA Special Agent.

Because the DEA is responsible for enforcing the [[Controlled Substances Act]], it excludes from consideration job applicants who use or have a recent history of using [[narcotics]] or illicit drugs. As of June 27, 2024, DEA applicants cannot have used cannabis or marijuana within three years of submitting their application and cannot have used any other narcotic substance within seven years of applying, although allowances are made for the use of marijuana prior to an applicant's 18th birthday.<ref>{{cite web |title=DEA Employment Eligibility |url=https://www.dea.gov/how-to-apply/employment-eligibility |website=dea.gov |publisher=United States Drug Enforcement Administration |access-date=7 January 2025}}</ref> Background investigations usually include a polygraph test for special-agent, diversion-investigator, and intelligence research specialist positions.{{Citation needed|date=January 2025|reason=This claim needs a reliable source; the DEA website does not mention any specific investigative techniques.}}
<!--{{blockquote|text=Applicants who are found, through investigation or personal admission, to have experimented with or used narcotics or dangerous drugs, except those medically prescribed, will not be considered for employment with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Exceptions to this policy may be made for applicants who admit to limited youthful and experimental use of [[cannabis (drug)|marijuana]]. Such applicants may be considered for employment if there is no evidence of regular, confirmed usage and the full-field background investigation and results of the other steps in the process are otherwise favorable.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/job/agent/bef_drugQuest.html|publisher=U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration|title=Drug Questionnaire|access-date=April 28, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070513034556/http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/job/agent/bef_drugQuest.html|archive-date=May 13, 2007|df=mdy-all}}</ref>}}-->

The DEA's relatively firm stance on personal drug use contrasts with those of the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] and the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]], which in 2023 considered further relaxing their eligibility guidelines so as to combat dwindling recruitment rates.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Londoño |first1=Ernesto |title=Needing Younger Workers, Federal Officials Relax Rules on Past Drug Use |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/30/us/marijuana-drugs-federal-jobs.html |website=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 30, 2023 |access-date=7 January 2025}}</ref>

===Aviation Division===
[[Image:DEA - Office of Aviation Operations emblem.png|thumb|DEA Aviation Division logo]]

The DEA '''Aviation Division''' or '''Office of Aviation Operations''' ('''OA''') (formerly '''Aviation Section''') is an airborne division based in [[Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport|Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport, Texas]]. The current OA fleet consists of 106 aircraft and 124 DEA pilots.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/programs/aviation.htm |publisher=U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration |title=Inside the DEA > DEA Programs > Aviation |access-date=September 13, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920235245/http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/programs/aviation.htm |archive-date=September 20, 2008 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

The DEA shares a communications system with the [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] for communication with state and regional enforcement independent of the [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]] and police information systems and is coordinated by an information command center called the [[El Paso Intelligence Center]] (EPIC) near [[El Paso, Texas]].

=== Special Response Teams ===
{{Unreferenced section|date=January 2020}}
[[File:Burning hashish seized in Operation Albatross.jpg|thumb|DEA agents in [[MultiCam]] uniform burning [[hashish]] seized in Operation Albatross in Afghanistan, 2007]]

'''Rapid Response Teams''' ('''RRT'''), previously known as '''Foreign-Deployed Advisory and Support Teams''' ('''FAST'''), were decommissioned by DEA acting administrator [[Chuck Rosenberg|Chuck Rosenburg]] in March 2017 via memorandum.  A need for domestic [[SWAT|high-risk service teams]] led to the hybrid creation of specialized tactical units residing within various geographical regions throughout the United States.

DEA officially created and standardized its '''Special Response Team''' ('''SRT''') program in 2016. The SRT was designed as a stop-gap between tactical operations conducted by field agents and those necessitating specialized tactics as a result of elevated risks. SRT operators are highly trained in various weapons systems and entry tactics/maneuvers. Because of the clandestine nature of the DEA mission, SRT training protocols and activation requirements are highly sensitive and not available to the public.  Some of the SRT missions consist of high-risk arrests, vehicle assaults, air assault/infiltration, specialized surveillance, custody of high-profile individuals, dignitary and witness protection, tactical surveillance and interdiction, advanced breaching, tactical training to other police units, and urban and rural fugitive searches.  Covertly located throughout the nation, DEA SRT teams are available to respond to practically any CONUS geographical area with little to no preparation or notification.  The DEA SRT has been involved in several high-profile operations in recent years, however, DEA involvement is often not publicized due to operational and intelligence considerations.  Considered one of the most covert outfits in federal law enforcement, very little is known about DEA SRT capabilities and its operator selection process.

In the past, DEA had other tactical teams like the '''High-risk Entry Apprehension Teams''' ('''HEAT''') in some Field Divisions, and '''[[Operation Snowcap]] Teams''' (predecessor of FAST). The teams administered by the Mobile Enforcement Section, the '''Mobile Enforcement Teams''' ('''MET'''), and '''Regional Enforcement Teams''' ('''RET'''), were mobile investigative units intended to deploy resources to state and local agencies (MET) or DEA Field Divisions (RET) in need of assistance with a particular investigation or trafficking group. These programs ended in the early 2000s.

=== Special Operations Division ===
The DEA '''Special Operations Division''' ('''SOD''') is a division within the DEA, which forwards information from wiretaps, intercepts, and databases from various sources to federal agents and local law enforcement officials. The SOD came under scrutiny following the [[2010s global surveillance disclosures]].<ref>{{cite news|title=How DEA program differs from recent NSA revelations|author=John Shiffman|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-dea-sod-nsa-idUSBRE9740AI20130805|work=[[Reuters]]|date=August 5, 2013|access-date=August 5, 2013|archive-date=March 12, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312164440/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-dea-sod-nsa-idUSBRE9740AI20130805|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program ===
The '''Domestic Cannabis Eradication'''/'''Suppression Program''' ('''DCE'''/'''SP''') began funding eradication programs in Hawaii and California in 1979. The program rapidly expanded to include programs in 25 states by 1982. By 1985, all 50 states were participating in the DCE/SP.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dea.gov/ops/cannabis.shtml|title=DEA / Cannabis Eradication|publisher=www.dea.gov|language=en-US|access-date=2017-06-07|archive-date=April 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180405091725/https://www.dea.gov/ops/cannabis.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2015, the DCE/SP was responsible for the eradication of 3,932,201 cultivated outdoor cannabis plants and 325,019 indoor plants for a total of 4,257,220 marijuana plants. In addition, the DCE/SP accounted for 6,278 arrests and the seizure in excess of $29.7 million of cultivator assets.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dea.gov/ops/cannabis.shtml|title=DEA / Cannabis Eradication|publisher=www.dea.gov|language=en-US|access-date=2017-06-08|archive-date=April 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180405091725/https://www.dea.gov/ops/cannabis.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2014, the DEA spent $73,000 to eradicate marijuana plants in Utah, though they did not find a single marijuana plant.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/10/07/the-dea-spent-73000-to-eradicate-marijuana-plants-in-utah-it-didnt-find-any/|title=Analysis {{!}} The DEA spent $73,000 to eradicate marijuana plants in Utah. It didn't find any.|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=2017-06-07|archive-date=June 23, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170623095708/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/10/07/the-dea-spent-73000-to-eradicate-marijuana-plants-in-utah-it-didnt-find-any/|url-status=live}}</ref> Federal documents obtained by journalist Drew Atkins detail the DEA's continuing efforts to spend upwards of $14 million per year to completely eradicate marijuana within the United States despite the government funding allocation reports showing that the Marijuana Eradication Program often leads to the discovery of no marijuana plants.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/jmd/pages/attachments/2015/02/01/25._drug_enforcement_administration_dea.pdf|title=U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration - FY 2016 Performance Budget Congressional Submission|website=www.justice.gov|access-date=June 7, 2017|archive-date=May 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170506135216/https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/jmd/pages/attachments/2015/02/01/25._drug_enforcement_administration_dea.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> This prompted twelve members of Congress to push for the elimination of the program and use the money instead to fund domestic-violence prevention and deficit-reduction programs.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://lieu.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/congress-wants-dea-prove-marijuana-eradication-program-necessary|title=Congress Wants the DEA to Prove Marijuana Eradication Program Is Necessary|date=2016-10-28|work=Congressman Ted Lieu|access-date=2017-06-07|language=en|archive-date=August 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830055413/https://lieu.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/congress-wants-dea-prove-marijuana-eradication-program-necessary|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Budget ==
In 2018, the DEA budget was $2.086 billion.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.justice.gov/jmd/page/file/1033151/download |title=FY budget request |date=2019 |website=www.justice.gov |access-date=2019-07-30 |archive-date=November 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181103010705/https://www.justice.gov/jmd/page/file/1033151/download |url-status=live }}</ref> $445 million was spent on international enforcement and $1.627 billion was spent on domestic enforcement.

* Breaking foreign and domestic sources of supply ($1.0149 billion) via domestic cannabis eradication/suppression; domestic enforcement; research, engineering, and technical operations; the Foreign Cooperative Investigations Program; intelligence operations ([[financial intelligence]], [[operational intelligence]], [[strategic intelligence]], and the [[El Paso Intelligence Center]]); and drug and chemical diversion control.
* Reduction of [[drug-related crime]] and violence ($181.8 million) funding state and local teams and mobile enforcement teams.
* [[Demand reduction]] ($3.3 million) via anti-[[Drug legalization|legalization]] education, training for law enforcement personnel, youth programs, support for community-based coalitions, and sports drug awareness programs.

==Firearms==
DEA agents' primary service weapons are the [[Glock 17]] and [[Glock 19]], [[Remington Model 870|Remington 870]] 12-gauge shotgun, and Rock River Arms [[AR-15 style rifle|LAR-15]] semi-automatic carbine in [[5.56×45mm NATO]]. Agents may also qualify to carry a firearm listed on an authorized carry list maintained and updated by the Firearms Training Unit (FTU), Quantico, Virginia.

Special Agents may qualify with their own personally owned handguns, rifle, and shotgun, and certain handguns are allowed to be used with permission from the FTU. Agents are required to attend tactical and firearms proficiency training quarterly, and to qualify with their handguns twice per year. The DEA has one of the most challenging handgun qualification courses in all of the federal law enforcement. Failure to achieve a passing qualification score is the reason for most Academy dismissals and special agents in the field may have their authority to carry a firearm revoked for failure to qualify.

Basic Agent Trainees (BATs) who fail the initial pistol qualification course of fire are placed in a remedial program to receive additional training. In remedial training, BATs receive five extra two-hour range sessions, for a total of 10 more hours of live fire training on their issued sidearm, to further aid them in helping pass the pistol qualification. After passing their pistol qualification, Basic Agent Trainees move on to receive formal training on the DEA's standard-issue long guns and will continue to frequently shoot the agency-issued sidearms that they have already qualified on. In all, BATs receive a total of 32 firearms training sessions, when combining classroom instruction, gear issue, and pistol, rifle, and shotgun live fire training at the DEA Academy. They will shoot the qualification courses for all three weapons systems during their initial training but must pass their final qualification attempts only on their Glock pistols to become a Special Agent.

[[Image:DEA-Agents.jpeg|thumb|Two DEA agents in a [[shoot house]] exercise]]
Agents are trained to use shoulder-fired weapons, such as the Rock River LAR-15, adopted in 2004, and the [[LWRC M6|LWRC M6A2]], the standard carbine of DEA. The [[Colt 9mm SMG]] was previously issued, but no longer in service. Agents are required to complete a two-day (16-hour) proficiency course to carry a shoulder weapon on enforcement operations. They may carry a Rock River LAR-15 or LWRC carbine as authorized, personally owned weapons, provided they meet the same training and proficiency standards.

==Impact on the drug trade==
{{See also|Illegal drug trade}}
{{Update section|date=March 2020}}
In 2005, the DEA seized a reported $1.4 billion in drug trade related assets and $477 million worth of drugs.<ref>{{cite web
 |url          = http://www.dea.gov/pubs/pressrel/pr122805.html
 |work         = dea.gov
 |title        = Drug Enforcement Administration Highlights Year's Accomplishments
 |date         = December 28, 2005
 |access-date   = 2007-04-28
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20060627001334/http://www.dea.gov/pubs/pressrel/pr122805.html
 |archive-date = June 27, 2006
 |url-status     = dead
 |df           = mdy-all
}}</ref> According to the White House's [[Office of Drug Control Policy]], the total value of all of the drugs sold in the U.S. is as much as $64 billion a year,<ref>{{cite web
| url=http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/drugfact/american_users_spend/index.html
| work=Office of National Drug Control Policy
| title=What America's Users Spend on Illegal Drugs 1988–1998
|date=December 2000
| access-date=2007-04-28
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070312034207/http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/drugfact/american_users_spend/index.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2007-03-12}}</ref> giving the DEA an efficiency rate of less than 1% at intercepting the flow of drugs into and within the United States. Critics of the DEA (including recipient of the [[Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences]], [[Milton Friedman]], prior to his death a member of [[Law Enforcement Against Prohibition]]) point out that demand for illegal drugs is [[inelastic]]; the people who are buying drugs will continue to buy them with little regard to price, often turning to crime to support expensive drug habits when the drug prices rise. One recent study by the DEA showed that the price of [[cocaine]] and [[methamphetamine]] is the highest it has ever been while the quality of both is at its lowest point ever.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/pressrel/pr121108.html |title=News from DEA, News Releases, 12/11/08 |publisher=Usdoj.gov |access-date=2011-08-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090821225700/http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/pressrel/pr121108.html |archive-date=August 21, 2009 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> This is contrary to a collection of data done by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, which states that purity of street drugs has increased, while price has decreased.<ref>Figure 4 Source: ONDCP. 1998 National Drug Control Strategy. Table 20.</ref><ref>Figure 5 Source: ONDCP. 1998 National Drug Control Strategy. Table 20.</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dwGpsNjv_1kC&q=ONDCP+national+drug+control+strategy+1998+heroin+purity+increase&pg=PA106 |title=''Lies, Damn Lies and Drug War Statistics'' |access-date=2011-08-31 |isbn=9780791480670 |date=2010-03-10 |last1=Robinson |first1=Matthew B. |last2=Scherlen |first2=Renee G. |publisher=State University of New York Press |archive-date=April 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416113125/https://books.google.com/books?id=dwGpsNjv_1kC&q=ONDCP+national+drug+control+strategy+1998+heroin+purity+increase&pg=PA106 |url-status=live }}</ref> In contrast to the statistics presented by the DEA, the United States Department of Justice released data in 2003 showing that purity of methamphetamine was on the rise.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/ndic-moved.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090831091547/http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs11/13853/avail.htm|url-status=dead|title=U.S. Department of Justice National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC)|archive-date=August 31, 2009|website=www.justice.gov}}</ref>

=== Registration and licensing ===
[[File:Deakhat.jpg|thumb|"Operation Somalia Express" was an 18-month investigation that included the coordinated takedown of a 44-member international narcotics-trafficking organization responsible for smuggling more than 25 tons of [[khat]] from the [[Horn of Africa]] to the United States.]]

The DEA has a registration system in place which authorizes anyone to manufacture, import, export, and distribute by filing [http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drugreg/reg_apps/225/225_instruct.htm DEA form 225] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151108082007/http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drugreg/reg_apps/225/225_instruct.htm |date=November 8, 2015 }} along with medical professionals, researchers and manufacturers access to "[[Controlled Substances Act|Schedule I]]" drugs, as well as Schedules 2, 3, 4 and 5. Authorized registrants apply for and, if granted, receive a "[[DEA number]]". An entity that has been issued a DEA number is authorized to manufacture (drug companies), distribute research, prescribe (doctors, [[pharmacist]]s, [[nurse practitioners]] and physician assistants, etc.), or dispense (pharmacy) a controlled substance.

=== Diversion control system ===
Many problems associated with [[substance use disorder]]s are the result of legitimately manufactured controlled substances being diverted from their lawful purpose into the illicit drug traffic. Many of the analgesics, depressants and stimulants manufactured for legitimate medical use can often carry the potential for addiction. Therefore, those scheduled substances have been brought under legal control for prevention and population safety. The goal of controls is to ensure that these "controlled substances" are readily available for medical use while preventing their distribution for illicit distribution and non-medical use. This can be a difficult task, sometimes providing difficulty for legitimate patients and healthcare providers while circumventing illegal trade and consumption of scheduled drugs.

Under federal law, all businesses which manufacture or distribute controlled drugs, all health professionals entitled to dispense, administer or prescribe them, and all [[Pharmacy|pharmacies]] entitled to fill prescriptions must register with the DEA. Registrants must comply with a series of regulatory requirements relating to drug security, records accountability, and adherence to standards.

All of these investigations are conducted by [[Diversion Investigator]]s (DIs). DIs conduct investigations to uncover and investigate suspected sources of diversion and take appropriate civil and administrative actions. Prescription Database Management Programs (PDMP) aid and facilitate investigation and surveillance.

{{Citation needed|date=October 2008}}

===Fentanyl overdose crisis===
In 2019 and 2020, record overdoses from illicit [[fentanyl]] tablets or as a deadly [[adulterant]] in [[heroin]] have ravaged North America. An estimated 19,416 individuals died of a drug overdose in the United States in the first 3 months of 2020 compared with 16,682 in the same 3-month period in 2019; this trend was fueled by synthetic opioids (especially illicitly manufactured fentanyl and analogs). Furthermore, between May 2020 and April 2021, the estimated number of drug overdose deaths in the United States exceeded 100,000 over this time period, with 64.0% of deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone (the same illicitly manufactured fentanyls and analogs).<ref name=jo>{{Cite journal |last1=O’Donnell |first1=Julie |last2=Tanz |first2=Lauren J. |last3=Gladden |first3=R. Matt |last4=Davis |first4=Nicole L. |last5=Bitting |first5=Jessica |date=2021-12-17 |title=Trends in and Characteristics of Drug Overdose Deaths Involving Illicitly Manufactured Fentanyls — United States, 2019–2020 |url=http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7050e3.htm?s_cid=mm7050e3_w |journal=MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report |volume=70 |issue=50 |pages=1740–1746 |doi=10.15585/mmwr.mm7050e3 |issn=0149-2195 |pmc=8675656 |pmid=34914673}}</ref>  In contrast, Europe has seen a decrease from heroin overdoses, and a practical absence of illicit, synthetic opioids.

Fentanyl, originally developed in the 1970s by [[Janssen Pharmaceutica]], is a potent anesthetic primarily used in hospital or hospice settings. In Europe, heroin is mainly supplied from [[Western Asia]] (from [[Afghanistan]] and neighboring countries), and less likely to be contaminated with fentanyl. In North America, there are now fewer deaths involving heroin than either meth or cocaine, a striking change that has taken place over the last two years as heroin has all but disappeared from some regions. Due to the absence of heroin from Asian sources, fentanyl-laced heroin powder or tablets have filled that void.<ref>Leana S Wen, Nakisa B Sadeghi (October 06, 2020). [https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)32113-9/fulltext The opioid crisis and the 2020 US election: crossroads for a national epidemic] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201216185314/https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)32113-9/fulltext |date=December 16, 2020 }} ''The Lancet''. VOLUME 396, ISSUE 10259, P1316-1318. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32113-9 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220713040735/https://www.thelancet.com/retrieve/pii/S0140673620321139 |date=July 13, 2022 }}. Retrieved 18 December 2020.</ref>

In October 2021, the US reported another record in fentanyl deaths, as federal agencies were unable to stem the tide of illicit, synthetic drugs entering the US. Originally, introduced to replace much of the white powder heroin in the Eastern United States, the drug continues to move further west. Between July 2019–December 2020, illicitly manufactured fentanyl involved deaths increased sharply in midwestern (33.1%), southern (64.7%), and western (93.9%) jurisdictions.

=== MDMA DEA scheduling overturn ===
In 1985 [[MDMA]] and its analogues were under review by the American government as a drug with a potential for addiction. During this time, several public hearings on the new drug were held by the DEA. Based on all of the evidence and facts presented at the time, the DEA's administrative law judge did not see MDMA and its analogues as being of large concern and recommended that they be placed in Schedule III. The DEA administrator, expressing concern for addictive potential, overruled the recommendation and ruled that MDMA be put in Schedule I, the [[Controlled Substances Act]]'s most restrictive category.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.drugtext.org/library/research/mdma/archive/15/default.htm |title=24 MDMA, Chorles S. Grob and Russell E Polond |publisher=Drugtext.org |access-date=August 31, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110911203541/http://www.drugtext.org/library/research/mdma/archive/15/default.htm |archive-date=September 11, 2011 |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>Video Documentary: "Hooked – Illegal Drugs and How They Got That Way: LSD, Ecstasy and Raves", The History Channel</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.maps.org/dea-mdma/|work=MAPS|url-status=dead|title=Documents from the DEA Scheduling Hearing of MDMA, 1984-1988|access-date=September 9, 2008|archive-date=May 23, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523212117/http://www.maps.org/dea-mdma/}}</ref>

==Rank structure==
The following is a listing of the rank structure found within the DEA (in ascending order):
* Agents
** Agent Trainee
** [[Special agent|Special Agent]]
** Senior Special Agent
** Supervising Special Agent
** Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC)
** [[Special Agent in Charge]] (SAC)
* Management
** Assistant Administrator
** Associate Deputy Administrator
** Deputy Administrator
** Principal Deputy Administrator
** Chief of Staff
** Administrator

== Line of duty deaths ==
54 DEA agents have been killed in the line of duty.<ref>{{Cite web |title=United States Department of Justice - Drug Enforcement Administration, US |url=https://www.odmp.org/agency/1050-united-states-department-of-justice-drug-enforcement-administration-us-government |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=The Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP)}}</ref>

== Criticism and controversies ==
{{See also|Criticism of the United States government#Criticism of agencies}}
The DEA has been criticized for placing highly restrictive schedules on a few drugs that researchers in the fields of [[pharmacology]] and medicine regard as having medical uses. Critics assert that some such decisions are motivated primarily by political factors stemming from the U.S. government's [[War on Drugs|war on drugs]] and that many benefits of such substances remain unrecognized due to the difficulty of conducting scientific research. A counterpoint to that criticism is that under the [[Controlled Substances Act]] it is the [[United States Department of Health and Human Services|Department of Health and Human Services]] (through the [[Food and Drug Administration]] and the [[National Institute on Drug Abuse]]), not the DEA, which has the legal responsibility to make scientific and medical determinations with respect to drug scheduling; no drug can be scheduled if the secretary of health and human services recommends against it on a scientific or medical basis, and no drug can be placed in the most restrictive schedule ([[List of Schedule I drugs|Schedule I]]) if DHHS finds that the drug has an accepted medical use. [[Jon Gettman]]'s essay ''Science and the End of Marijuana Prohibition'' describes the DEA as "a fall guy to deflect responsibility from the key decision-makers" and opines, "HHS calls the shots when it comes to marijuana prohibition, and the cops at DEA and the general over at [[Office of National Drug Control Policy|ONDCP]] take the heat."{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}

The DEA is also criticized for focusing on the operations from which it can seize the most money,<ref>{{cite SSRN|ssrn=959869 |title=Policing for Profit: The Drug War's Hidden Economic Agenda |date=January 29, 2007 |last1=Blumenson|first1=Eric D.|last2=Nilsen|first2=Eva S.}}</ref> namely the [[organized crime|organized]] cross-border trafficking of [[marijuana]]. Some individuals contemplating the nature of the DEA's charter advise that, based on danger, the DEA should be most focused on cocaine. Others suggest that, based on [[opiate]] popularity, the DEA should focus much more on [[medical prescription|prescription]] opiates used recreationally, which critics contend comes first before users switch to heroin.

[[Medical practitioner|Practitioner]]s who legally prescribe medicine however must possess a valid DEA license. According to federal law, the budget of the DEA Diversion Control Program is to be paid by these license fees. In 1984 a three-year license cost $25. In 2009 the fee for a three-year license was $551. Some have likened this approach to license fees unreasonable, "like making pilot licenses support the entire [[Federal Aviation Administration]] (FAA) budget." The renewal fee for 2020 as of October 1, 2020, is $888 for a three-year license.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cda.org/Home/News-and-Events/Newsroom/Article-Details/deas-prescriber-registration-fees-will-increase-oct-1|title=DEA's prescriber registration fees will increase Oct. 1|access-date=October 16, 2020|archive-date=October 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018082757/https://www.cda.org/Home/News-and-Events/Newsroom/Article-Details/deas-prescriber-registration-fees-will-increase-oct-1|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2005, the DEA estimated that it had over 4,000 informants without which they "could not effectively enforce the controlled substances laws of the United States."<ref name="usatoday.com">{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2012/10/07/informants-justice-crime/1600323/|title=Crimes by ATF and DEA informants not tracked by feds|website=[[USA Today]] |date=October 7, 2012}}</ref> To gather information, agents permitted their informants to  buy and sell drugs, engage in Medicaid fraud rings, and other illicit acts.<ref name="usatoday.com"/> Despite this, the DEA claims that they are "in compliance" with the rules for using informants to gather information about illicit activities.<ref name="usatoday.com"/>

===Costs===
The total budget of the DEA from 1972 to 2014, according to the agency website, was $50.6 billion. The agency had 11,055 employees in 2014. For the year 2014 the average cost per arrest made was $97,325.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dea.gov/about/history/staffing.shtml |title=DEA Staffing & Budget |publisher=Justice.gov |access-date=December 18, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150103090908/http://www.dea.gov/about/history/staffing.shtml |archive-date=January 3, 2015 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

===Civil liberties===
Others, such as former Republican congressman Ron Paul, the [[Cato Institute]],<ref>{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.cato.org/pubs/handbook/hb109/hb_109-24.pdf
 |work        = Cato Handbook on Policy
 |title       = The war on drugs
 |last        = Boaz
 |first       = David
 |author-link  = David Boaz
 |author2     = Timothy Lynch
 |publisher   = Cato Institute
 |pages       = 253–260
 |date        = August 12, 2004
 |access-date  = May 3, 2007
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20070415065502/http://www.cato.org/pubs/handbook/hb109/hb_109-24.pdf
 |archive-date = April 15, 2007
 |df          = mdy-all
}}</ref> The [[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian Party]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lp.org/platform#1.1 |title=LIBERTARIAN PARTY PLATFORM |author=Libertarian Party |date=July 11, 2018 |author-link=Libertarian Party (United States) |access-date=January 14, 2016 |archive-date=September 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120905224919/http://www.lp.org/platform#1.1 |url-status=live }}</ref> and the [[Drug Policy Alliance]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.drugpolicy.org/about/mission/|title=Mission and Vision {{!}} Drug Policy Alliance|website=www.drugpolicy.org|access-date=May 3, 2007|archive-date=April 4, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070404073503/http://www.drugpolicy.org/about/mission/|url-status=live}}</ref> criticize the very existence of the DEA and the war on drugs as both hostile, and contrary, to the concept of [[civil liberties]] by arguing that anybody should be free to put any substance they choose into their own bodies for any reason, particularly when legal drugs such as alcohol, tobacco and [[prescription drug]]s are also open to addiction, and that any harm caused by a drug user or addict to the general public is a case of conflicting civil rights. Recurrently, billions of dollars are spent yearly, focusing largely on [[criminal law]] and [[demand reduction]] campaigns, which has resulted in the imprisonment of thousands of U.S. citizens.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/pressrel/pr021099.htm |title=News from DEA, News Releases, 02/10/99 |publisher=Usdoj.gov |access-date=August 31, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081021030858/http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/pressrel/pr021099.htm |archive-date=October 21, 2008 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Demand for recreational drugs is somewhat static as the market for most illegal drugs has been saturated, forcing the cartels to expand their market to Europe and other areas than the United States.{{Citation needed|date=February 2008}} United States federal law registers cannabis as a Schedule I drug.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/scheduling.html |title=DEA, Drug Scheduling |publisher=Usdoj.gov |access-date=August 31, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081020210309/http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/scheduling.html |archive-date=October 20, 2008 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

===Incarceration of Daniel Chong===
{{Main|Incarceration of Daniel Chong}}
In April 2012 in [[San Diego, California]], DEA agents detained a student, Daniel Chong, and left him locked in a holding room for five days. The cell contained no food, water or bathroom facilities.<ref name="MSNBC">[https://web.archive.org/web/20120505234650/http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/04/11527375-students-ordeal-how-was-daniel-chong-lost-in-dea-detention?lite "Student's ordeal: How was Daniel Chong lost in DEA detention?"], MSNBC, May 4, 2012</ref> When he was found, he had to be hospitalized for several days for a variety of medical problems. The incident touched off a national furor, resulting in several investigations. The incident has been described as a "[[Kafkaesque]] nightmare,"<ref name="NYT">[https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/03/us/daniel-chong-left-for-days-in-holding-cell.html "California Man's ‘Drug Holiday’ Becomes Four-Day Nightmare in Holding Cell"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170310173817/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/03/us/daniel-chong-left-for-days-in-holding-cell.html|date=2017-03-10}}, New York Times, May 2, 2012</ref> a "debacle," and "one of the worst cases of its kind."<ref>Watson, Julie, and Freking, Kevin, [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2012/05/01/national/a215603D99.DTL&tsp=1 "Federal lawmaker: DEA debacle suggests breakdown"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503091921/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2012/05/01/national/a215603D99.DTL&tsp=1|date=2012-05-03}}, San Francisco Chronicle, May 3, 2012</ref> Chong subsequently sued the DEA; the government settled the suit for $4.1 million.<ref name="Wilson">Stan Wilson, [https://www.cnn.com/2013/07/30/justice/california-dea-settlement/index.html Daniel Chong, forgotten in DEA cell, settles suit for $4.1 million] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181229032020/https://www.cnn.com/2013/07/30/justice/california-dea-settlement/index.html|date=2018-12-29}}, CNN (July 30, 2013).</ref>

===Department of Justice Smart on Crime Program===
On August 12, 2013, at the [[American Bar Association]]'s House of Delegates meeting, Attorney General [[Eric Holder]] announced the "Smart on Crime" program, which is "a sweeping initiative by the Justice Department that in effect renounces several decades of tough-on-crime anti-drug legislation and policies."<ref name="ABA meeting Aug 12 2013">{{cite web | url=http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/sweeping_reversal_of_the_war_on_drugs_announced_by_atty_general_holder/?sc_cid=130815AR | title=Sweeping reversal of the War on Drugs announced by Atty General Holder | publisher=American Bar Association | work=ABA's 560-member policy making House of Delegates | date=12 August 2013 | access-date=16 August 2013 | author=Carter, Terry | pages=1 | archive-date=September 29, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929091909/http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/sweeping_reversal_of_the_war_on_drugs_announced_by_atty_general_holder/?sc_cid=130815AR | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Reforming The Criminal Justice System Aug 12 2013">{{cite web | url=http://www.abajournal.com/files/SMART_ON_CRIME.PDF | title=Smart on Crime: Reforming The Criminal Justice System | publisher=US Department of Justice | work=Remarks to American Bar Association’s Annual Convention in San Francisco, CA | date=August 12, 2013 | access-date=16 August 2013 | pages=7 | archive-date=January 9, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109013224/http://www.abajournal.com/files/SMART_ON_CRIME.PDF | url-status=live }}</ref> Holder said the program "will encourage U.S. attorneys to charge defendants only with crimes "for which the accompanying sentences are better suited to their individual conduct, rather than excessive prison terms more appropriate for violent criminals or drug kingpins..."<ref name="ABA meeting Aug 12 2013"/><ref name="Reforming The Criminal Justice System Aug 12 2013"/> Running through Holder's statements, the increasing economic burden of over-incarceration was stressed.<ref name="ABA meeting Aug 12 2013"/><ref name="Reforming The Criminal Justice System Aug 12 2013"/> {{As of | August 2013}}, the Smart on Crime program is not a legislative initiative but an effort "limited to the DOJ's policy parameters."<ref name="ABA meeting Aug 12 2013"/><ref name="Reforming The Criminal Justice System Aug 12 2013"/>

===International events===
David Coleman Headley (born Daood Sayed Gilani, June 30, 1960) who was working as an informant for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) simultaneously made periodic trips to Pakistan for LeT training and was one of the main conspirators in the [[2008 Mumbai attacks]].
On January 24, 2013, Headley, then 52 years old, was sentenced by U.S. district judge Harry Leinenweber of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago to 35 years in prison for his part in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, in which at least 164 victims (civilians and security personnel) and nine attackers were killed. Among the dead were 28 foreign nationals from 10 countries.<ref name="Casualties">{{Cite press release |url=http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=45446 |publisher=Press Information Bureau ([[Government of India]]) |date=11 December 2008 |title=HM announces measures to enhance security |access-date=14 December 2008 |archive-date=December 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225050738/http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=45446 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="CNN">{{Cite news |last1=Stevens |first1=Andrew |first2=Mallika |last2=Kapur |first3=Harmeet |last3=Shah Singh |first4=Saeed |last4=Ahmed |first5=Sara |last5=Sidner |first6=Alessio |last6=Vinci |first7=Reza |last7=Sayah |first8=Paula |last8=Newton |title=Indian official: Terrorists wanted to kill 5,000 |publisher=CNN |date=29 November 2008 |url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/11/29/india.attacks/index.html |access-date=30 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202083137/http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/11/29/india.attacks/index.html |archive-date=2 December 2008  |url-status=live|author2-link=Mallika Kapur |author8-link=Paula Newton }}</ref><ref name="bbc1">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7751707.stm |title=Indian forces storm Jewish centre |work=BBC News |date=27 November 2008 |access-date=27 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081128024751/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7751707.stm |archive-date=28 November 2008  |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/392538/1/.html |title=One Japanese killed, another wounded in Mumbai shootings |publisher=[[Channel NewsAsia]] |access-date=26 November 2008 }}{{dead link|date=June 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="for">{{Cite news |author=P.S. Suryanarayana |title=Caught in the crossfire, 9 foreign nationals killed |date=27 November 2008 |url=http://www.hindu.com/2008/11/28/stories/2008112854911900.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110813153720/http://www.hindu.com/2008/11/28/stories/2008112854911900.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 August 2011 |access-date=27 November 2008 |work=[[The Hindu]] |location=Chennai, India}}</ref> One attacker was captured.<ref name="CNN"/> The bodies of many of the dead hostages showed signs of torture or disfigurement.<ref name="torture">{{Cite news |url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/nov/30mumterror-doctors-shocked-at-hostagess-torture.htm |title=Rediff: Doctors shocked at hostages's torture |work=[[Rediff.com]] |author1=Krishnakumar P  |author2=Vicky Nanjappa |date=30 November 2008 |access-date=21 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090305213427/http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/nov/30mumterror-doctors-shocked-at-hostagess-torture.htm |archive-date=5 March 2009  |url-status=live}}</ref> A number of those killed were notable figures in business, media, and security services.<ref>{{Cite news |first=Philippe |last=Naughton |title=British yachting tycoon Andreas Liveras killed in Bombay terror attacks |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5246974.ece |work=The Times |location=UK |date=27 November 2008 |access-date=27 November 2008 |archive-date=July 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220713040729/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="topcopcasualties">{{Cite news |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Mumbai_3_top_cops_die_on_duty/articleshow/3762023.cms |title=Three top cops die on duty |work=The Times of India |location=India |date=27 November 2008 |access-date=27 November 2008 |archive-date=July 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725175046/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Mumbai_3_top_cops_die_on_duty/articleshow/3762023.cms |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="nsgkia">{{Cite news |title=Indian victims include financier, journalist, actor's sister, police |publisher=CNN |date=30 November 2008 |url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/11/29/india.victims/index.html?iref=topnews |access-date=30 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202083222/http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/11/29/india.victims/index.html?iref=topnews |archive-date=2 December 2008  |url-status=live}}</ref>

The DEA was accused in 2005 by the [[Venezuela]]n [[Government of Venezuela|government]] of collaborating with drug traffickers, after which President [[Hugo Chávez]] decided to end any collaboration with the agency. In 2007, after the [[United States Department of State|U.S. State Department]] criticized Venezuela in its annual report on drug trafficking, the Venezuelan Minister of Justice reiterated the accusations: "A large quantity of drug shipments left the country through that organization. We were in the presence of a new [[drug cartel]]."<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/03/03/news/nation/20_41_553_2_07.txt
|work=New County Times
|title=Venezuela rejects U.S. drug report, accuses DEA of collaborating with traffickers
|author=Christopher Toothaker
|access-date=March 2, 2007
|archive-date=September 29, 2007
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929083435/http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/03/03/news/nation/20_41_553_2_07.txt
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
In his [[Dark Alliance series|1996 series of articles]] and subsequent [[Dark Alliance (book)|1999 book]], both titled Dark Alliance, journalist Gary Webb asserts that the DEA helped harbor Nicaraguan drug traffickers. Notably, they allowed [[Oscar Danilo Blandón]] political asylum in the USA despite knowledge of his cocaine-trafficking organization.<ref>{{cite book|last=Webb|first=Gary|year=1999|pages=177|title=Dark Alliance|publisher=Seven Stories Press|isbn=978-1-888363-93-7|title-link=Dark Alliance (book)}}</ref>

The government of [[Bolivia]] has also taken similar steps to ban the DEA from operating in the country. In September 2008, Bolivia drastically reduced diplomatic ties with the United States, withdrawing its ambassador from the US and expelling the US ambassador from Bolivia. This occurred soon after Bolivian president [[Evo Morales]] expelled all DEA agents from the country due to a revolt in the traditional coca-growing [[Chapare Province]]. The Bolivian government claimed that it could not protect the agents, and Morales further accused the agency of helping incite the violence, which claimed 30 lives. National agencies were to take over control of drug management.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.cnn.com/2008-11-01/world/bolivia.dea_1_bolivian-government-autonomy-movement-chapare?_s=PM:WORLD|title=Morales: Government will take over for DEA in Bolivia|date=November 1, 2008|publisher=CNN|access-date=November 2, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121005171533/http://articles.cnn.com/2008-11-01/world/bolivia.dea_1_bolivian-government-autonomy-movement-chapare?_s=PM%3AWORLD|archive-date=October 5, 2012|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Three years later, Bolivia and the US began to restore full diplomatic ties. However, Morales maintained that the DEA would remain unwelcome in the country, characterising it as an affront to Bolivia's "dignity and sovereignty".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-15649399|title=Bolivia's Morales insists no return for US drug agency|date=November 8, 2011|publisher=[[BBC]]|access-date=November 2, 2012|archive-date=November 12, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112041153/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-15649399|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the Netherlands, both the Dutch government and the DEA have been criticized for violations of Dutch sovereignty in drug investigations. According to [[Peter R. de Vries]], a Dutch journalist present at the 2005 trial of Henk Orlando Rommy, the DEA has admitted to activities on Dutch soil. Earlier, then Minister of Justice [[Piet Hein Donner]], had denied to the [[States General of the Netherlands|Dutch parliament]] that he had given permission to the DEA for any such activities, which would have been a requirement by Dutch law in order to allow foreign agents to act within the territory.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.peterrdevries.nl/programma/textprogramma021005.htm
|title=Dossier: De zwarte Cobra
|last=de Vries
|first=Peter R.
|work=Programma
|language=nl
|date=October 2, 2005
|access-date=May 12, 2007
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927223607/http://www.peterrdevries.nl/programma/textprogramma021005.htm
|archive-date=September 27, 2007
|df=mdy-all
}}</ref>

The DEA conducted a covert operation over several years in which undercover operatives were sent to Venezuela to build drug-trafficking cases against Venezuela's leadership, including [[Nicholas Maduro]]. The plan was part of "Operation Money Badger", which the DEA and prosecutors in Miami created in 2013. It potentially breached Venezuelan and international law and therefore required the approval of the Sensitive Activity Review Committee, a secretive panel of senior State and Justice Department officials that oversees the most sensitive DEA cases involving tricky ethical, legal or foreign policy considerations.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Goodman |first1=Joshua |last2=Mustian |first2=Jim |title=Secret US spying program targeted top Venezuelan officials, flouting international law |url=https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-dea-drugs-cocaine-maduro-spying-law-fbf37f94207d05fb45dca1b75bf04d41 |website=AP News |access-date=4 February 2024 |language=en |date=1 February 2024}}</ref>

Following the [[Colombian peace process]], which brought an end to the [[Colombian conflict]] between the [[Government of Colombia|Colombian government]]  and the [[Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia]] (FARC–EP), the [[Special Jurisdiction for Peace]] found that the DEA had plotted with Colombian Attorney General Néstor Humberto Martínez to fabricate drug trafficking charges against [[Jesús Santrich]], in a bid to jeopardize the peace agreement by inciting the FARC to take up arms again.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://cambiocolombia.com/articulo/poder/la-dea-la-fiscalia-y-un-coronel-entramparon-el-proceso-de-paz |title=La DEA, la Fiscalía y un coronel entramparon el proceso de paz &#124; Cambio Colombia}}</ref>

===Special Operations Division fabricated evidence trails===
In 2013, ''[[Reuters]]'' published a report about the DEA's Special Operations Division (SOD) stating that it conceals where an investigative trail about a suspect truly originates from and [[Parallel construction|creates a parallel set of evidence]] given to prosecutors, judges, and defense lawyers. This DEA program mainly affects common criminals such as drug dealers. The concealment of evidence means the defendant is unaware of how his or her investigation began and will be unable to request a review of possible sources of exculpatory evidence. Exculpatory evidence may include biased witnesses, mistakes, or entrapment. Nancy Gertner, a former federal judge who had served from 1994 to 2011 and a [[Harvard Law School]] professor, stated that "It is one thing to create special rules for national security. Ordinary crime is entirely different. It sounds like they are phonying up investigations."<ref>{{cite news|first1=John|last1=Shiffman|first2=Kristina|last2=Cooke|title=Exclusive: U.S. directs agents to cover up program used to investigate Americans|date=Aug 5, 2013|work=[[Reuters]]|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-dea-sod-idUSBRE97409R20130805|access-date=Jun 2, 2016|archive-date=August 14, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130814032628/http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/05/us-dea-sod-idUSBRE97409R20130805|url-status=live}}</ref> Andrew O'Hehir of ''[[Salon (magazine)|Salon]]'' wrote that "It's the first clear evidence that the “special rules” and disregard for constitutional law that have characterized the hunt for so-called terrorists have crept into the domestic criminal justice system on a significant scale."<ref>{{cite news|last=O'Hehir|first=Andrew|title=The NSA-DEA police state tango|date=August 10, 2013|work=[[Salon (magazine)|Salon]]|url=http://www.salon.com/2013/08/10/the_nsa_dea_police_state_tango/|access-date=June 2, 2016|archive-date=June 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160622005724/http://www.salon.com/2013/08/10/the_nsa_dea_police_state_tango/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Cannabis rescheduling===
A 2014 report by the [[Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies]] and the [[Drug Policy Alliance]] accuses the DEA of unfairly blocking the [[Removal of cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act|removal of cannabis]] from [[List of Schedule I drugs (US)|Schedule I]]. The report alleges that the methods employed by the DEA to achieve this include: delaying rescheduling petitions for years, [[Removal of cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act#1972 petition|overruling DEA administrative law judges]], and systematically impeding scientific research.<ref>{{cite web|title=The DEA: Four Decades of Impeding And Rejecting Science|url=http://www.drugpolicy.org/resource/dea-four-decades-impeding-and-rejecting-science|publisher=DPA, MAPS|access-date=14 June 2014|archive-date=June 13, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140613012935/http://www.drugpolicy.org/resource/dea-four-decades-impeding-and-rejecting-science|url-status=live}}</ref> The DEA continues to refuse the removal of cannabis from Schedule I despite wide-scale acceptance of the substance among the medical community, including 76% of doctors, for the [[Medical cannabis|treatment of various diseases]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Grotenhermen|first1=F|last2=Müller-Vahl|first2=K|title=The therapeutic potential of cannabis and cannabinoids|journal=Deutsches Ärzteblatt International|date=July 2012|volume=109|issue=29–30|pages=495–501|pmid=23008748|doi=10.3238/arztebl.2012.0495|pmc=3442177}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Pamplona|first1=FA|last2=Takahashi|first2=RN|title=Psychopharmacology of the endocannabinoids: far beyond anandamide.|journal=Journal of Psychopharmacology|date=January 2012|volume=26|issue=1|pages=7–22|pmid=21652605|doi=10.1177/0269881111405357|s2cid=4000916}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Adler|first1=Jonathan N.|last2=Colbert|first2=James A.|title=Medicinal Use of Marijuana — Polling Results|journal=New England Journal of Medicine|date=30 May 2013|volume=368|issue=22|pages=e30|doi=10.1056/NEJMclde1305159|pmid=23718175}}</ref>

===Domestic anti-drug advocacy===
The DEA, in addition to enforcement, also regularly engage in advocacy, specifically against rescheduling marijuana, by publishing policy-based papers on certain drugs.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Statement of the Drug Enforcement Administration before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce-Subcommittee on Health for a Hearing Entitled: Cannabis Policy-For The New Decade |url=https://www.dea.gov/documents/2020/2020-01/2020-01-15/statement-drug-enforcement-administration-house-committee-energy |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250404015644/https://www.dea.gov/documents/2020/2020-01/2020-01-15/statement-drug-enforcement-administration-house-committee-energy |archive-date=2025-04-04 |access-date=2025-05-20 |website=DEA |language=en}}</ref> Figures such as Ifetayo Harvey, founder and executive of the People of Color Psychedelic Collective,<ref>{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://www.ifetayo.me/about |access-date=2025-05-20 |website=Ifetayo Harvey |language=en-US}}</ref> have criticized the DEA for using tax dollars in what they call an attempt to change public opinion, a practice they call an overreach from the scope of the agency's job of enforcement. They claim that the DEA releasing such non-peer-reviewed reports is a transparent attempt to justify its own activities<ref name=":0" /> and that since it is not by law an advocacy group but rather a legal enforcement group, those press releases are tantamount to what they consider domestic propaganda.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Ifetayo |first=Harvey |date=2024 |title=Time to Abolish the DEA: Evaluating the Agency’s Failures and&nbsp;Calling for Community Investments |url=https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6113&context=flr |journal=[[Fordham Law Review]] |publication-date=2024 |volume=93 |issue=2 |page=429 |access-date=20 May 2025 |via=The Fordham Law Archive of Scholarship and History}}</ref>{{Nbsp}}

===Insufficient monitoring of David Headley===
The DEA faced a major setback for not keeping stringent observation on Pakistani-American informant [[David Headley]], for involvement in the [[2008 Mumbai attacks|November 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai]], as well as conspiring a terror attack on the Danish newspaper [[Jyllands-Posten]] for the [[Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy|cartoons of Muhammad]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Slideshow: An American's Path to the Mumbai Attacks |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/slideshow-an-americans-path-to-the-mumbai-attacks/ |access-date=August 4, 2024 |website=FRONTLINE}}</ref> Headley, while working with the DEA, took part in the plot by providing reconnaissance to the Pakistan based terror outfit [[Lashkar-e-Taiba]], which he was introduced to while visiting Pakistan. <ref>[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/labs/i/perfect-terrorist/# Interactive: David Coleman Headley's Web of Betrayal], PBS. Retrieved July 26, 2013</ref> On January 24, 2013, a [[United States federal courts|U.S. federal court]] eventually sentenced Headley to 35 years in prison for his role in Mumbai and Copenhagen.<ref name="SweeneySentence">{{cite news |last=Sweeney |first=Annie |date=January 24, 2013 |title=Chicago man gets 35 years in Mumbai terror attack |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-sentencing-today-for-chicago-man-in-mumbai-terror-attack-20130124,0,3301876.story |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130124183315/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-sentencing-today-for-chicago-man-in-mumbai-terror-attack-20130124,0,3301876.story |archive-date=January 24, 2013 |access-date=January 24, 2013 |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]}}</ref>

===Scheduling of psychedelic drugs===
{{See also|2,5-Dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine#United States}}

On January 14, 2022, the DEA proposed moving five unscheduled and relatively obscure [[psychedelic drug]]s of the [[substituted tryptamine|tryptamine]] family, including [[4-OH-DiPT]], [[5-MeO-AMT]], [[5-MeO-MiPT]], [[5-MeO-DET]], and [[DiPT]], into the [[Controlled Substances Act#Schedule I controlled substances|Schedule I]] [[controlled substance]]s category in the United States.<ref name="Carpenter2022">{{cite web | last=Carpenter | first=David E. | title=DEA Proposes Adding Five Psychedelic Compounds to Schedule 1 | website=Lucid News - Psychedelics, Consciousness Technology, and the Future of Wellness | date=25 January 2022 | url=https://www.lucid.news/dea-proposes-five-psychedelic-compounds-schedule-1/ | access-date=27 January 2025}}</ref><ref name="PsychedelicAlpha2022">{{cite web | author=Psychedelic Alpha | title=Inside the Challenge to DEA's Proposed Scheduling of 5 Psychedelic Tryptamines | website=Psychedelic Alpha | date=29 July 2022 | url=https://psychedelicalpha.com/news/inside-the-challenge-to-deas-proposed-scheduling-of-5-psychedelic-tryptamines | access-date=27 January 2025}}</ref> A large number of individuals and organizations from the psychedelic community and medical industry publicly challenged and opposed the proposal.<ref name="Jaeger2022">{{cite web | last=Jaeger | first=Kyle | title=DEA Faces Backlash Over Proposed Scheduling Of Five Psychedelic Compounds | website=Marijuana Moment | date=7 February 2022 | url=https://www.marijuanamoment.net/dea-faces-backlash-over-proposed-scheduling-of-five-psychedelic-compounds/ | access-date=27 January 2025}}</ref><ref name="Martinovic2022">{{cite web | last=Martinovic | first=Jelena | title=Will The DEA Give In As Advocates Revolt Over Proposed Scheduling Of Five Psychedelic Compounds? | website=Benzinga | date=7 February 2022 | url=https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cannabis/22/02/25456564/will-the-dea-give-in-as-advocates-revolt-over-proposed-scheduling-of-five-psychedelic-compounds | access-date=27 January 2025}}</ref><ref name="PsychedelicAlpha2022" /><ref name="Aragón2024">{{cite web | author=Matthew Aragón | title=Meet Moxy: The Novel Psychedelic the DEA Tried To Ban | website=doubleblindmag.com | url=https://doubleblindmag.com/what-is-moxy/ | date = 9 January 2024 | access-date=27 January 2025}}</ref><ref name="Baggott2022">{{cite web | title=STATEMENT OF MATTHEW BAGGOTT, PH.D. [In the Matter of Scheduling 4-OH-DiPT, 5-MeO-AMT, 5- MeO-MiPT, 5-MeO-DET, and DiPT] | date = July 2022 | url=https://psychedelicalpha.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Baggott_Statement_FINAL_executed.DOCX.pdf | access-date=27 January 2025}}</ref> On July 22, 2022, facing pressure, the DEA withdrew the proposal.<ref name="PsychedelicAlpha2022" /><ref name="Aragón2024" />

In December 2023, the DEA announced a second attempt to schedule two other obscure and little-used psychedelic drugs, [[DOI (drug)|DOI]] and [[DOC (drug)|DOC]].<ref name="PsychedelicsToday2024">{{cite web | author=Psychedelics Today | title=Meet the Legal Team Fighting the DEA to Save Psychedelic Research | website=Psychedelics Today | date=24 October 2024 | url=https://psychedelicstoday.com/2024/10/24/meet-the-legal-team-fighting-the-dea-to-save-psychedelic-research/ | access-date=6 June 2025}}</ref><ref name="PsychedelicsToday2025">{{cite web | author=Psychedelics Today | title=Is the DEA Sabotaging Psychedelic Research? Inside the Push to Schedule DOI and DOC | website=Psychedelics Today | date=21 January 2025 | url=https://psychedelicstoday.com/2025/01/21/is-the-dea-sabotaging-psychedelic-research-inside-the-push-to-schedule-doi-and-doc/ | access-date=6 June 2025}}</ref><ref name="Sullum2024">{{cite web | last=Sullum | first=Jacob | title=These psychedelics could revolutionize mental health. The DEA wants to ban them. | website=Reason.com | date=9 November 2024 | url=https://reason.com/2024/11/09/a-psychedelic-ban-would-disrupt-important-research/ | access-date=6 June 2025}}</ref> DOI is notable in being extensively used in [[scientific research]] in the study of the [[serotonin]] [[5-HT2A receptor|5-HT<sub>2A</sub> receptor]] and psychedelic drugs, including as a standard [[radiolabel]] for serotonin 5-HT<sub>2A</sub> receptor [[ligand (biochemistry)|ligand]] and [[affinity (pharmacology)|affinity]] studies and as a psychedelic drug in [[animal study|animal studies]].<ref name="GlennonDukat2024">{{cite journal | vauthors = Glennon RA, Dukat M | title = 1-(2,5-Dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl)-2-aminopropane (DOI): From an Obscure to Pivotal Member of the DOX Family of Serotonergic Psychedelic Agents - A Review | journal = ACS Pharmacol Transl Sci | volume = 7 | issue = 6 | pages = 1722–1745 | date = June 2024 | pmid = 38898956 | pmc = 11184610 | doi = 10.1021/acsptsci.4c00157 | url = }}</ref><ref name="CanalMorgan2012">{{cite journal | vauthors = Canal CE, Morgan D | title = Head-twitch response in rodents induced by the hallucinogen 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine: a comprehensive history, a re-evaluation of mechanisms, and its utility as a model | journal = Drug Test Anal | volume = 4 | issue = 7-8 | pages = 556–576 | date = 2012 | pmid = 22517680 | pmc = 3722587 | doi = 10.1002/dta.1333 | url = }}</ref><ref name="Nichols2016">{{Cite journal | last = Nichols | first = David E. | date = 2016 | title = Psychedelics | journal = Pharmacological Reviews | language = en | volume = 68 | issue = 2 | pages = 264–355 | doi = 10.1124/pr.115.011478 | issn = 0031-6997 | pmc = 4813425 | pmid = 26841800 | url = https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4813425/pdf/pr.115.011478.pdf | quote = Although studies have appeared that employed psilocybin or LSD or a select few other agents, probably the majority of animal experiments have used the “psychedelic” 5-HT2A agonist DOI. That is another unfortunate consequence of the current drug laws. DOI has never been popular as a recreational drug, nor has any clinical study been carried out to compare its effects with classic drugs such as LSD, mescaline, or psilocybin, and only anecdotal reports of its human psychopharmacology exist (e.g., Shulgin and Shulgin, 1991). Although DOI is quite potent, it likely never became popular as a street drug because of its very prolonged duration of action, so it had never been placed into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (although as of November 2015, there are congressional moves afoot to change that). Therefore, DOI has been commercially available to qualified investigators and did not require a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration license to work with it.}}</ref><ref name="PsychedelicsToday2025" /><ref name="Sullum2024" /> The proposal again was met with opposition.<ref name="PsychedelicsToday2024" /><ref name="PsychedelicsToday2025" /> Owing to very long [[duration of action|duration]]s (e.g., 16–30{{nbsp}}hours) that users find intolerable, DOI and other [[DOx (psychedelics)|DOx]] drugs have seen very little [[recreational drug use|recreational use]].<ref name="GlennonDukat2024" /><ref name="Nichols2016" /><ref name="PsychedelicsToday2025" /><ref name="Baggott2023">{{cite journal | last=Baggott | first=Matthew J. | title=Learning about STP: A Forgotten Psychedelic from the Summer of Love | journal=History of Pharmacy and Pharmaceuticals | volume=65 | issue=1 | date=1 October 2023 | issn=2694-3034 | doi=10.3368/hopp.65.1.93 | doi-access=free | pages=93–116 | url=https://hopp.uwpress.org/content/wphopp/65/1/93.full.pdf | access-date=27 January 2025}}</ref><ref name="TroutDaley2024">{{cite journal | vauthors = Trout K, Daley PF | title = The origin of 2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine (DOM, STP) | journal = Drug Test Anal | volume = 16 | issue = 12 | pages = 1496–1508 | date = December 2024 | pmid = 38419183 | doi = 10.1002/dta.3667 | url = https://shulginresearch.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/The-origin-of-25-dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine-DOM-STP.-Trout.-Drug-Test.-Anal.-DOI-10.1002-dta.3667-2024.pdf}}</ref> By attempting to schedule DOI and make it more difficult to access for research purposes in spite of it not being a significant drug of recreational use, the DEA has been accused of trying to interfere with or sabotage the field of psychedelic science and medicine.<ref name="PsychedelicsToday2025" /><ref name="Sullum2024" /> The developments have been covered by journalist [[Hamilton Morris]] and others.<ref name="PsychedelicsToday2025" /><ref name="Sullum2024" />

== Raids on medical marijuana dispensaries ==
[[File:DEA Raid protest.jpg|thumb|right|People protesting [[medical marijuana]] raids]]<!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: [[File:Stop arresting patients.jpg|thumb|right|People protesting DEA arrests on medical marijuana users]] -->

The DEA has taken a particularly strong stance on enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act on persons and organizations acting within state laws that allow [[medical cannabis]] cultivation and distribution.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/18/national/main2369758.shtml |title=Feds Raid 11 Medical Marijuana Clinics, DEA Does Not Recognize California Law legalizing the medical use of pot |work=CBS News |access-date=August 31, 2011 |archive-date=May 18, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518013651/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/18/national/main2369758.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref> DEA chief [[Chuck Rosenberg]] has made negative comments on patients who use medical marijuana, saying he considers medical marijuana to be a "joke".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Reid |first=Paula |last2=Condon |first2=Stephanie |date=2015-11-04 |title=DEA chief says smoking marijuana as medicine "is a joke" |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dea-chief-says-smoking-marijuana-as-medicine-is-a-joke/ |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=CBS News |language=en-US}}</ref>  As a reaction against the negative statements made by Rosenberg towards medical marijuana, an international online petition has been formed. More than 159,737 signatures have been gathered globally with the intention that Rosenberg be fired or forced to resign as head of DEA.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Rough|first1=Lisa|title=Petition to Fire DEA Chief Gains Traction|url=https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/petition-to-fire-dea-chief-gains-traction|access-date=June 12, 2017|work=Leafly|date=November 18, 2015|archive-date=April 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416102520/https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/petition-to-fire-dea-chief-gains-traction|url-status=live}}</ref>

"The people of California and the County of Santa Cruz have overwhelmingly supported the provision of [[medical marijuana]] for people who have serious illnesses," county Supervisor [[Mardi Wormhoudt]] told the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]''. "These people (blocking the road) are people with AIDS and cancer and other grave illnesses. To attack these people, who work collectively and have never taken money for their work, is outrageous."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/441/hincheyvote.shtml |title=Feature: Move to Block DEA Medical Marijuana Raids Heads for House Floor Vote Next Week |publisher=Stopthedrugwar.org |access-date=August 31, 2011 |archive-date=June 29, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629185358/http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/441/hincheyvote.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2002/09/06/MN212302.DTL&type=printable |title=Santa Cruz officials fume over medical pot club bust / DEA arrests founders, confiscates plants |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=September 6, 2002 |access-date=August 31, 2011 |archive-date=January 3, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090103180029/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2002%2F09%2F06%2FMN212302.DTL&type=printable |url-status=live }}</ref>

As a result, the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana, with the City and County of Santa Cruz, had sued the DEA, Attorney General [[Michael Mukasey]], and the [[ONDCP]]. The most recent court decision rejected the government's motion to dismiss, which allowed discovery to move forward. The [[American Civil Liberties Union]] hailed the decision as "a first-of-its-kind ruling."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/medmarijuana/36496prs20080820.html |title=Federal Court Rules U.S. Government May Not Deliberately Subvert California's Medical Marijuana Laws |publisher=American Civil Liberties Union |date=August 20, 2008 |access-date=August 31, 2011 |archive-date=October 25, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091025121629/http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/medmarijuana/36496prs20080820.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

More recently, the DEA has escalated its enforcement efforts on the recently proliferated Los Angeles area medical cannabis collectives. On July 25, 2007, the DEA raided the California Patients Group, Hollywood Compassionate Collective, and Natural Hybrid (NHI Caregivers) in Hollywood, California.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lee |first1=Martin |title=An Industry Emerges: The Rise of Medical Marijuana |url=http://realitysandwich.com/161557/industry_emerges/ |website=Reality Sandwich |access-date=1 October 2014 |date=2012 |archive-date=October 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006145608/http://realitysandwich.com/161557/industry_emerges/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Earlier that day, the operators of those collectives participated in a press conference with LA City Council members announcing the city's intention to regulate the collectives and asking the DEA to halt raids on collectives while the City drafted regulations.{{citation needed|date=October 2010}} The dispensary operator of Natural Hybrid (NHI Caregivers) was forced to close down the collective due to the tremendous loss caused by the DEA conducted joint task force raid against them.{{citation needed|date=October 2010}}

== Project Cassandra ==
{{Main|Project Cassandra}}
In 2008 the Special Operations part of the agency launched a multi-agency effort named [[Project Cassandra]]<ref>Meyer, Josh. (18 December 2017). "The secret backstory of how Obama let Hezbollah off the hook". [https://www.politico.com/interactives/2017/obama-hezbollah-drug-trafficking-investigation/ Politico website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171217223918/https://www.politico.com/interactives/2017/obama-hezbollah-drug-trafficking-investigation/ |date=December 17, 2017 }} Retrieved 24 December 2017.</ref> to investigate [[Hezbollah]] for allegations of illicit drug trafficking and terrorist financing. The investigation identified an Iranian cell in the U.S. which worked in concert with a Lebanese bank called the Lebanese Canadian Bank to launder money using the purchase of used automobiles exported to Africa. Project Cassandra also identified hemispheric drug syndicates involved in cocaine trafficking in order to finance Hezbollah activities. The Department of Justice issued several sealed indictments but declined to seize, prosecute, extradite, or further investigate likely targets of these alleged foreign criminal activities operating in the United States due to White House diplomatic objectives involving the international nuclear agreement with Iran.<ref>Meyer, 2017</ref> On December 22, 2017, Attorney General [[Jeff Sessions]] ordered a review of prior cases in the project.<ref>Hacohen, Hagay and Wilner, Michael. (23 December 2017). "Sessions Orders a Review of Project Cassandra". [http://www.jpost.com/American-Politics/Sessions-orders-a-review-of-Project-Cassandra-519806 Jerusalem Post website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171225175935/http://www.jpost.com/American-Politics/Sessions-orders-a-review-of-Project-Cassandra-519806 |date=December 25, 2017 }} Retrieved 25 December 2017.</ref>

== DEA Museum ==
{{Main|Drug Enforcement Administration Museum and Visitors Center}}

In 1999, the DEA opened the Drug Enforcement Administration Museum in [[Arlington County, Virginia]]. The original permanent exhibit – Illegal Drugs in America: A Modern History – remains the museum's centerpiece.  The exhibit features "the more than 150 year history of drugs and drug abuse and the DEA," including a considerable collection of drug paraphernalia and an image of a smiling drug vendor under the heading "Jimmy's Joint".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.deamuseum.org/ida/index.html|title=Illegal Drugs in America, a Modern History|publisher=DEA Museum Website|access-date=February 27, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111024173130/http://www.deamuseum.org/ida/index.html|archive-date=October 24, 2011|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
The DEA are commonly featured in [[Crime Drama|crime drama]] films and TV, as both protagonists and antagonists.
* [[Hank Schrader]] is one of the main protagonists in [[AMC (TV channel)|AMC's]] ''[[Breaking Bad]]''. He is both a DEA agent (later promoted to ASAC) and brother-in-law to drug kingpin [[Walter White (Breaking Bad)|Walter White]], unknowingly investigating Walt's alter-ego Heisenberg for the duration of the show.
* [[Javier Peña]] and [[Stephen Murphy (civil servant)|Stephen Murphy]] are two of the main protagonists in [[Netflix|Netflix's]] ''[[Narcos]]''. They are responsible for the capture and killing of the [[Drug barons of Colombia|Colombian drug lord]] [[Pablo Escobar]] on December 2, 1993, of which the show was based on.
* [[Norman Stansfield]] leads a team of corrupt DEA agents, who along with the NYPD, hunt an assassin in the 1994 movie ''[[Léon: The Professional]]''.
* In the film ''[[Sabotage (2014 film)|Sabotage]]'', a group of special agents with the DEA's Special Operations Team, are hunted down after stealing a large amount of cartel cash during a raid.
* Alex Walker, the protagonist of the crime show [[Almost Paradise (TV series)|Almost Paradise]] is a retired DEA agent who uses his expertise to work alongside the [[Mactan]] Police Department in fighting crime.

== See also ==
{{Portal|United States|Politics}}
<!-- list is in alphabetical order  -->
* [[DEA Purple Heart Award]]
* [[Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad]] (former Colombian counterpart)
* [[Diplomatic Security Service|Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), U.S. State Department]]
* [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI)
* [[Federal Drug Control Service of Russia|Federal Drug Control Service]] (Russian former counterpart)
* [[Immigration and Customs Enforcement]] (ICE)
* [[List of United States federal law enforcement agencies]]
* [[Main Directorate for Drugs Control]] (Russian counterpart)
* [[Office of Criminal Investigations]]
* [[Operation Money Badger]]
* [[Operation Panama Express]]
* [[Operation Tiburon]] (most successful counter-drug operation)
* [[Regulation of therapeutic goods in the United States]]
* [[Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations]]
* [[U.S. Customs and Border Protection]] (CBP)
<!-- list is in alphabetical order  -->

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* [[Harry J. Anslinger]] and [[Will Oursler]] (1961). ''The Murderers: The Story of the Narcotic Gangs''. New York: Farrar, Straus and Cudahy.
* [[Edward Jay Epstein]] (1977). ''[https://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/History/aof/index.html Agency of Fear: Opiates and Political Power in America]''. New York:  Putnam.
* King, Rufus (1972). ''[https://www.druglibrary.org/special/king/dhu/dhumenu.htm The Drug Hang-Up: America's Fifty Year Folly]''
* Luno, Nathan [http://thedea.org/itsresults.html Results of America's Drug War]; {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114012016/http://thedea.org/itsresults.html |date=January 14, 2009 }}.  TheDEA.og.
* {{cite news|title=98 Percent of All Domestically Eradicated Marijuana Is 'Ditchweed,' DEA Admits|publisher=[[NORML]]|date=September 7, 2006|url=http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7033|access-date=March 27, 2007|archive-date=September 27, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927143944/http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7033|url-status=dead}}
* [https://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/studies/studies.htm Major Studies of Drugs and Drug Policy]—Schaffer Library of Drug Policy
* Smith, Wayne (2012). ''Waffle House Diaries''. Chattanooga, TN: Bluehotel Press.

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website|http://www.dea.gov/}}
** {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/*/http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/|title=Archives of late 1990s websites (usdoj.gov/dea/)}}
* [https://www.dea.gov/submit-tip DEA Tip Line]
* [https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/drug-enforcement-administration Drug Enforcement Administration] in the [[Federal Register]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20141104092227/http://www.justice.gov/dea/about/history/former.shtml List of former DEA Administrators]
* [https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/ Office of Diversion Control]
* [https://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/dea/index.htm A response to the DEA web site]
* [http://www.americanwarlibrary.com/deawatch/daily.htm DEA Watch]
* [https://www.drugenforcementedu.org/ DrugEnforcementEdu.org]
* [https://www.getsmartaboutdrugs.gov/ Get Smart About Drugs – A DEA Resource for Parents]
* [https://www.justthinktwice.gov/ DEA Demand Reduction – Street Smart Prevention]
* [https://museum.dea.gov/ DEA Museum]

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{{Intelligence agencies of USA}}
{{Federal law enforcement agencies of the United States}}
{{Presidency of Richard Nixon}}
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[[Category:Drug Enforcement Administration| ]]
[[Category:Drug control law enforcement agencies]]
[[Category:Federal law enforcement agencies of the United States]]
[[Category:United States Department of Justice agencies]]
[[Category:Drug control law in the United States]]
[[Category:United States intelligence agencies]]
[[Category:Government agencies established in 1973]]
[[Category:1973 establishments in Washington, D.C.]]