Drug Enforcement Administration

America's frontline soldiers in the battle against illegal drugs are agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). In 1973 President Richard Nixon founded the DEA with 1,470 agents and a budget of $74.9 million to fight what he called ôan all-out global war on the drug menace.ö Today the DEA has 5,235 agents, a budget of more than $2.3 billion, and 87 foreign offices around the world. Agents of the DEA fight one of the toughest and most controversial battles in the ongoing war against crime. Drug Enforcement Administration details the numerous fronts in the unit's ever-expanding fight against drug traffickers and describes the tactics used to bring them to justice.