Prior to the Liberian civil crisis, illicit drugs offenses weren’t considered as a threat to the Liberian society. The recorded cases of illicit drugs usage and trafficking in Liberia before the civil crisis was centered on few cases of marijuana, the locally cultivated form of Cannabis Sativa plant which the public health law and the penal law softly dealt with. The illicit drug offenses was not a foreseeable challenges in Liberia, so the criminal justice system had little interest in dealing with those offenses. Record shows that no one was ever completely prosecuted for such offenses through the Liberian criminal justice system. The issue of the increment in crimes resulting from and relating to drug usage and abuse became an alarming situation in 1993 to which the Interim Government of National Unity (IGNU) headed by Dr. Amos C. Sawyer had a meeting amongst the existing national Security agencies in order to device strategies to curbing the situation.
The recorded national security institutions that attended the first meeting were Liberia national Police, Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization now Liberia Immigration Service, Ministry of Defense, National Security Agency, Deformed Ministry of National Security, and Deformed National Bureau of Investigations. During the administration of David D. Kpormakpor in 1995 a second meeting was held on issues surrounding the proliferation of drug offenses thus leading to the establishment of the de-facto National Inter-Ministerial Committee (NIDC). The authority to arrest and investigate illicit drug offenses was simultaneously with the following institutions that were made part of the de-facto the National Inter-Ministerial Committee (NIDC).
- Liberia National Police - Anti-Narcotic Section
- Ministry of National Defense
- Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization now Liberia Immigration Service
- National Security Agency
- Deformed Ministry of National Security
- Deformed National Bureau of Investigation
In 1998, the government under the administration of His Excellency Dakpana Dr. Charles Ghankay Taylor taught that it was expedient to have a single institution that will have the total and statutory jurisdiction over drug offenses as it is with the United States of America (Drug Enforcement Administration-DEA).
President Taylor moved the National Legislature to pass into law an act to amend Chapter 22.0 of the New Executive law of Liberia to provide for the Addition of sub-chapter F creating and establishing the Drugs Enforcement Agency (DEA). This Act was approved December 23, 1998 and published January 25, 1999 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The 1998 Act establishing the Drug Enforcement Agency stated the following sections below.
- SECTION 22.104. The National Inter-Ministerial Committee (NIDC) is hereby repealed.
- SECTION 22.105. All functions and specialized personnel of the Narcotic Division of the Liberia National Police Force and the National Security Agency are hereby transferred to the Drug Enforcement Agency.
The Law that described the offenses and prescribe the mode of punishment for the prosecution of drug offenses was Chapter 41 of the Public Health Law of Liberia under the caption “Control of Narcotic Drugs” and Section 17.5 of the Penal Law under the caption “offenses against Public order”.
Having observed and reviewed the scopes of Chapter 22.0 of the New Executive law of Liberia to provide for the Addition of sub-chapter F creating and establishing the Drugs Enforcement Agency, Chapter 41 of the Public Health Law of Liberia under the caption “Control of Narcotic Drugs” and Section 17.5 of the Penal Law under the caption “offenses against Public order”, major states actors presented to the National Legislature the proposed Act to amend the act creating and establishing the Drug Enforcement Agency months prior to 2014.
Having deliberated in both houses of the National Legislature, the legislature passed the following instruments into law in October of 2014. The documents were:
- An act to amend Chapter14, of the New Penal Law of 1978 under the caption ‘OFFENSES INVOLVING DANGER TO THE PERSON’ adding thereto subchapter E and repealing provisions of Chapter 41 of the Public Health law of Liberia and deleting portion of 17.5 of the New Penal Law of Liberia. This law was approved on October 17, 2014 and printed into handbill by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on October 21, 2014.
- AN ACT TO AMEND CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCY thus creating the "LIBERIA DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCY ACT of 2014". This law was approved on October 17, 2014 and printed into handbill by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on October 23, 2014.