The primary thrust of this research project was to explore the history of federal government drug control enactments and organizations in the United States. The purpose of this exploration was to assess how the federal government's past drug control record shapes the future of public school drug prevention programs. Drug enforcement, prevention, and intervention attempts made by the government work on changing the behavior of the target population. Illicit drug prevalence rates, however, indicate that the target population has not changed its behavior in the manner that the federal government has prescribed. In fact, the government has a history of failing to implement public policy in a manner that achieves stated objectives. This could be because the federal government has not: (1) efficiently or effectively allocated resources; (2) accurately identified, addressed, or measured the validity of the reasons for the problem in public policy; (3) understood target group behavior, particularly from the target group's perspective; (4) gained the cooperation of states and other policy actors in implementing public policy by allowing them greater control and input. Approximately 65 percent of the document consists of 34 tables which outline government drug-related terminology; the effects of drugs; drug-use trends; a history of government's drug-control efforts, ranging from 1620 to 1989; and other information. Contains 41 references. (RJM)