Reagan signs Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 designating the Pentagon as the single lead agency for detecting and monitoring drug trafficking

President Reagan signed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 (P.L. 100-690) on November 18, 1988, which designated the Department of Defense as the single lead agency for detecting and monitoring aerial and maritime transit of illegal drugs into the United States. Congress backed the designation with a quadrupling of DOD's counter-drug budget between FY1988 and FY1992, peaking at $1.22 billion. The law established three joint task forces—JTF-4 in Key West, JTF-5 in Alameda, and JTF-6 in El Paso—to coordinate surveillance, intelligence, and interdiction operations across the Caribbean, Pacific, and land borders.