In 1977 the DEA had acknowledged that decriminilization was worth considering; three years later it called marijuana the most urgent drug problem facing the United States.... advocates of marijuana law reform were pushed out of the mainstream by the growing influence of the parents' groups.... Philosophies of "zero tolerance" and "user accountability" revived the notion that what drug offenders deserved most was punishment.

— Reefer Madness by Eric Schlosser (Page 24 - 25)