The War on Drugs started in the 1970s after servicemen from which conflict returned home with addiction issues?

The War on Drugs started in the 1970s after servicemen from which conflict returned home with addiction issues?

• A. World War II
• B. The Vietnam War
• C. The Korean War
• D. The Gulf War

Answer: (B)

The event that sparked the push in the 1970s to crack down on drugs was the experience of veterans returning from the Vietnam War who faced addiction issues. In Vietnam, heroin use was widespread among some soldiers, and a number of these servicemen struggled with heroin addiction after coming home. This visible problem helped galvanize public concern and contributed to the tougher drug-control policies President Nixon and others pushed in the early 1970s. The other conflicts listed did not generate the same prominent, national catalyst for drug policy at that moment, and the Gulf War occurred later. So the Vietnam War is the correct cause linked to the War on Drugs' rise in the 1970s.

The event that sparked the push in the 1970s to crack down on drugs was the experience of veterans returning from the Vietnam War who faced addiction issues. In Vietnam, heroin use was widespread among some soldiers, and a number of these servicemen struggled with heroin addiction after coming home. This visible problem helped galvanize public concern and contributed to the tougher drug-control policies President Nixon and others pushed in the early 1970s. The other conflicts listed did not generate the same prominent, national catalyst for drug policy at that moment, and the Gulf War occurred later. So the Vietnam War is the correct cause linked to the War on Drugs' rise in the 1970s.