The
Drug Enforcement Administration was created
by President Richard Nixon through an
Executive Order in July 1973 in order
to establish a single unified command
to combat "an all-out global war
on the drug menace." At its outset,
DEA had 1,470 Special Agents and a budget
of less than $75 million. Today, the
DEA has nearly 5,000 Special Agents and
a budget of $2.02 billion.