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Executive Order 11727 Constitutional Fidelity (+0.44)

Executive Order 11727—Drug Law Enforcement

Richard Nixon Richard Nixon
•
Friday, July 6, 1973
•
2 min read (404 words)

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

This executive order, signed by President Richard Nixon on 1973-07-06, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Drug Law Enforcement." It outlines operative directives for executive department officers, delegating enforcement responsibilities and establishing official governance guidelines.

Constitutional Assessment: Reviewed under the Tenth Amendment and the principle of dual federalism, this order touches upon domains traditionally reserved to the sovereign States. The Framers would caution against any attempt to commandeer state officers or displace local police powers through federal executive fiat.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

▪ In my message to the Congress transmitting that plan, I stated that all functions of the Office for Drug Abuse Law Enforcement (established pursuant to Executive Order No.
▪ 11641 of January 28, 1972) and the Office of National Narcotics Intelligence (established pursuant to Executive Order No.
▪ Each department and agency of the Federal Government shall, upon request and to the extent permitted by law, assist the Attorney General in the performance of functions assigned to him pursuant to this order, and the Attorney General may, in carrying out those functions, utilize the services of any other agencies, Federal and State, as may be available and appropriate.
▪ 11641 of January 28, 1972, is revoked and the Attorney General shall provide for the reassignment of the functions of the Office for Drug Abuse Law Enforcement and for the abolishment of that Office.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
Total Words
404
2,483 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
13.5
Post-Grad reading level
Constitutional Polarity
+0.44
Framers' Alignment index
📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 11727, Richard Nixon (Jul 6, 1973). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11727-drug-law-enforcement.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →
Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1973, which becomes effective on July 1, 1973, among other things establishes a Drug Enforcement Administration in the Department of Justice. In my message to the Congress transmitting that plan, I stated that all functions of the Office for Drug Abuse Law Enforcement (established pursuant to Executive Order No. 11641 of January 28, 1972) and the Office of National Narcotics Intelligence (established pursuant to Executive Order No. 11676 of July 27, 1972) would, together with other related functions, be merged in the new Drug Enforcement Administration. Now, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, including section 5317 of title 5 of the United States Code, as amended, it is hereby ordered as follows: SECTION 1. The Attorney General, to the extent permitted by law, is authorized to coordinate all activities of executive branch departments and agencies which are directly related to the enforcement of laws respecting narcotics and dangerous drugs. Each department and agency of the Federal Government shall, upon request and to the extent permitted by law, assist the Attorney General in the performance of functions assigned to him pursuant to this order, and the Attorney General may, in carrying out those functions, utilize the services of any other agencies, Federal and State, as may be available and appropriate. SEC. 2. Executive Order No. 11641 of January 28, 1972, is revoked and the Attorney General shall provide for the reassignment of the functions of the Office for Drug Abuse Law Enforcement and for the abolishment of that Office. SEC. 3. Executive Order No. 11676 of July 27, 1972, is hereby revoked and the Attorney General shall provide for the reassignment of the functions of the Office of National Narcotics Intelligence and for the abolishment of that Office. SEC. 4. Section 1 of Executive Order No. 11708 of March 23, 1973, as amended, placing certain positions in level IV of the Executive Schedule is hereby further amended by deleting (1) "(6) Director, Office for Drug Abuse Law Enforcement, Department of Justice."; and (2) "(7) Director, Office of National Narcotics Intelligence, Department of Justice." SEC. 5. The Attorney General shall provide for the winding up of the affairs of the two offices and for the reassignment of their functions. SEC. 6. This order shall be effective as of July 1, 1973. RICHARD NIXON The White House, July 6, 1973.