An official website of the United States government Here’s how you know United States Drug Enforcement Administration SEARCH FULL MENU Main Menu Main Menu About Mission History Divisions DEA Museum Foreign Offices Operational Divisions Wall Of Honor Contact Us Our History Since its founding in 1973 the mission of the DEA has been to enforce the controlled substances laws and regulations of the United States, and bring to the criminal and civil justice system of the United States, or any competent jurisdiction, organizations and their principal members involved in the growing, manufacture, or distribution of controlled substances appearing, in or destined for, illicit traffic in the United States, and recommend and support non-enforcement programs aimed at reducing availability of illicit controlled substances. On this page you can read how DEA and its people have fulfilled this mission over the past five decades, and the important work of our predecessor agencies during “The Early Years” of federal drug law enforcement in the United States. The Early Years Covers the years of drug law enforcement leading up to the creation of DEA 1970-1975 DEA Officially established by President Nixon 1975-1980 DEA's First publication to address drugs at a child's level 1980-1985 First Lady Nancy Regan at "Just Say No " rally at the White House 1985-1990 The National Red Ribbon Campaign was sparked by the murder of DEA Special Agent Enrique Camarena by drug traffickers. 1990-1994 DEA instituted the Kingpin Strategy that focused investigative and enforcement efforts on specific drug trafficking organizations. 1994-1998 DEA Assist with security during the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta, GA 1999-2003 The DEA Laboratory System established a program in 1990 to address environmental concerns from the clean up of clandestine drug laboratories. 2003-2008 DEA agents seized several loads of marijuana and Ecstasy that conspirators tried to move through one of 34 U.S.-Canadian cross-border tunnels discovered on July 21, 2005. 2009-2013 Extradition of Miguel Caro-Quintero (2009) head of the family drug trafficking organization responsible for trafficking multi-ton quantities of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana into the U.S. SAMHSA Behavioral Health Treatment Locator Who We Are About Domestic Divisions Foreign Offices Contact Us DEA Museum What We Do Drug Prevention Law Enforcement Diversion Control Division News Careers Overview Special Agent Diversion Investigator Forensic Sciences Intelligence Research Specialist Resources Drug Information Employee Assistance Program Equal Opportunity Employer FOIA Publications Media Galleries VWAP Doing Business with the DEA Overview Current Vendors Prospective Vendors Security Clauses Security Forms Small Business Program Policies Accessibility, Plug-ins & Policy Legal Policies & Disclaimers No FEAR Act Privacy Policy U.S. Department of Justice EEO Policy USA.gov Whistleblower Protection United States Drug Enforcement Administration DEA.gov is an official site of the U.S. Department of Justice Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Instagram DEA Contact Center (202) 307-1000 info@dea.gov Contact the Webmaster