Lady Bird Johnson had highway beautification, Laura Bush had literacy, and Michelle Obama has fitness. But probably no first lady in history has been as strongly identified with a cause as Nancy Reagan, who died last week. In pursuit of “a drug-free society,” she visited schools and treatment centers throughout the country, led thousands of schoolchildren in drug-free pledges, delivered dozens of speeches, gave more than 100 interviews, filmed PSAs with movie stars such as Clint Eastwood, co-hosted Good Morning America, and did cameo appearances on Diff‘rent Strokes and Dynasty. She even sat on Mr. T’s lap. “If you even save one life,” the first lady liked to say, “it’s worth it.”
But there is no evidence that her crusade saved anyone’s life, or even stopped people from using drugs, writes Jacob Sullum. Although drug use, as measured by government-commissioned surveys, fell during the 1980s, that trend began years before Nancy Reagan launched her “Just Say No” campaign. Reagan’s anti-drug activism was not just silly or ineffectual, however. It was fundamentally misguided, avowedly intolerant, and unabashedly repressive, writes Sullum. It promoted violence as a response to peaceful activities that violate no one’s rights and reinforced misconceptions about drug use that shaped public policy for decades, leading to millions of unjustified arrests and prison sentences.
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