Exposed: Secret Nixon Tapes Reveal He Never Believed in His Own War on Drugs

Despite his public war on drugs, Nixon knew marijuana wasn’t as dangerous as he claimed – a contradiction that left a lasting impact on U.S. drug policy and affected countless lives.

In a recent investigation by The New York Times, a startling truth emerged about President Richard Nixon’s historic "war on drugs." While Nixon publicly branded marijuana as “public enemy No. 1,” secret recordings from his administration reveal that he privately dismissed it as “not particularly dangerous.”

This contradiction between his public stance and private beliefs sheds light on how personal biases and political calculations led to a punitive drug policy that has continued to influence American lives for decades. The revelation surfaced when Kurtis Hanna, a cannabis lobbyist and advocate for drug legalization, uncovered previously unreleased recordings at the Nixon Library. Shocked by the discrepancies he found, Hanna shared them with the press, saying, “Nixon was essentially saying the exact opposite of what I understood him to believe.”

Nixon’s 1968 presidential campaign leaned heavily on an anti-drug platform, where he warned that marijuana and other drugs were “decimating a generation of young Americans.” Pledging to crack down on illicit drugs, Nixon proposed a rigorous federal effort to stem drug abuse. True to his promise, shortly after his inauguration, he assembled the Special Presidential Task Force Relating to Narcotics, Marijuana, and Dangerous Drugs, calling drug misuse “a serious national threat.”

In 1969, Nixon launched “Operation Intercept,” the first in a series of actions that laid the groundwork for the “war on drugs.”By 1971, Nixon was openly calling drug misuse “public enemy number one,” vowing to “fight and defeat this enemy” through an “all-out offensive.” The administration moved swiftly, initially placing marijuana as a Schedule I substance, meaning it was classified among drugs considered most dangerous, like heroin, with a “high potential for abuse” and “no accepted medical use.”

The private Nixon, however, held a very different view. In recorded Oval Office conversations, he admitted to not knowing much about marijuana and acknowledged it “wasn’t particularly dangerous.” In a 1972 recording with top aide John Ehrlichman, he even expressed support for a “modification of penalties,” saying he didn’t believe in extreme sentencing, like the 10-year sentences handed out in states such as Texas. Nixon confided that he was wary of pushing for legalization, fearing it would “send the wrong signal” at the time, but privately thought punishments for marijuana were too harsh.

These recordings contrast sharply with the president’s image as a staunch anti-drug crusader. Hanna, the Minnesota advocate who uncovered these tapes, commented, “President Nixon, the man who signed the bill to classify marijuana as Schedule I and created the Drug Enforcement Administration, didn’t believe marijuana was addictive or dangerous.” He noted that Nixon’s public and private stances were at complete odds, describing the administration’s aggressive policies as a “sham.”

John Ehrlichman, one of Nixon’s closest advisors, later confirmed that the war on drugs was crafted to target Nixon’s political opponents, namely Black communities and anti-Vietnam War activists. In a 1994 interview with Harper’s Magazine, Ehrlichman disclosed that the administration’s drug policies were meant to associate marijuana with the “hippies” and heroin with Black Americans, weaponizing public perception against them.

Ehrlichman admitted, “We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be against the war or Black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and Blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities.” Nixon’s tough-on-drugs stance allowed authorities to raid homes, break up meetings, and arrest leaders, effectively vilifying these groups and weakening their influence.

Though Nixon’s administration ignored the Shafer Commission's recommendation to decriminalize marijuana, the commission found that criminalization was an excessive response and that marijuana use was not a significant public safety threat. Yet, Nixon’s policies prevailed, influencing drug legislation that led to millions of marijuana-related arrests in subsequent decades. Today, despite increasing calls for legalization, Nixon’s drug policies have left a deeply embedded legacy of harsh penalties, disproportionately affecting marginalized communities.

As of 2024, with nearly half of U.S. states legalizing recreational marijuana and even more approving medical use, attitudes toward cannabis have shifted dramatically. Former President Donald Trump recently expressed support for a Florida amendment to decriminalize marijuana possession, acknowledging that criminalizing minor cannabis offenses wastes taxpayer money. Vice President Kamala Harris has openly shared her own experiences with marijuana, noting that it can “give people joy” and encouraging a new approach to cannabis legislation.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice has proposed moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III, a major shift that would recognize marijuana as a substance with lower potential for abuse and dependence. If approved, this change could mark a significant turning point in undoing the war on drugs.

Yet the damage of Nixon’s contradictory war on drugs endures. In 2022 alone, over 227,000 people were arrested for marijuana-related offenses—a sharp reduction from previous decades but still a stark reminder of the millions affected by Nixon’s policies. The discovery of these private recordings reveals that, behind the rhetoric, Nixon knew marijuana was far from the threat he claimed. But for those caught in the dragnet of his drug war, the damage has been real and lasting.

Did Nixon’s ‘war on drugs’ do more harm than good?