Gene Haislip: Pioneering DEA Leader Against Quaaludes and MDMA

Gene Haislip: Pioneering DEA Leader Against Quaaludes and MDMA

Gene Haislip was a pioneering leader at the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) who spearheaded major efforts to crack down on the recreational drugs methaqualone (Quaaludes) and MDMA (Ecstasy) in the 1970s, 80s and 90s.

Haislip served for over 17 years as the head of the DEA’s Office of Diversion Control, where he developed innovative strategies to control the chemicals used to manufacture illegal drugs. His crowning achievements were bringing an end to widespread recreational use of Quaaludes in the early 1980s, and initiating the process to federally criminalize MDMA shortly thereafter.

This article will provide an overview of Haislip’s career, his strategic approach to drug enforcement, and the major operations he led against Quaaludes and MDMA.

Early DEA Career

Gene Haislip began his law enforcement career at the Federal Bureau of Narcotics in 1962. When the FBN merged with other agencies to become the DEA in 1973, Haislip continued his work there.

He rose through the ranks of the DEA during the 1970s, gaining increasing responsibility. By 1981 he had been appointed as the head of the Office of Diversion Control, a key department within the agency.

The “Quaalude Epidemic”

In the late 1970s and early 80s, recreational use of the sedative-hypnotic drug methaqualone – commonly known by the brand name Quaalude – had become widespread. Quaaludes were being diverted from legitimate pharmaceutical channels and illegally manufactured in underground labs.

By 1981, Quaaludes had become the 6th most abused illegal drug in the United States. Haislip referred to this as the “Quaalude Epidemic.” Approximately 25 million tablets were being consumed recreationally per year at the height of the epidemic.

Haislip pioneered a strategy of going after the raw materials used to manufacture Quaaludes rather than just the end product. He led Operation Lemmonaid, leveraging international diplomacy and coordinated law enforcement to successfully cut off the supply of chemicals like anthranilic acid that were essential for illegal Quaalude production.

“One of the consequences of our victory over methaqualone is that I was soon approached by some of our agents in South America, and they said to me, ‘Gene, you’ve got to do the same thing with the chemicals for cocaine.’ I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ They said, ‘Well, all the chemicals for processing cocaine now are coming in from the U.S., and our friends down there are always complaining to us, ‘You expect us to stop the cocaine when you send the chemicals down here?’” – Gene Haislip, DEA

With the supply of precursor chemicals severed, the Quaalude epidemic was largely over by 1984. This case demonstrated that going after the source of drug manufacturing chemicals could be an effective complement to seizures of final drug products.

The Threat of MDMA

In the early to mid 1980s, Haislip and the DEA began receiving concerning reports about the growing recreational use of MDMA (3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine), a synthetic drug with hallucinogenic and stimulant effects.

MDMA had been patented by Merck pharmaceutical company in 1912, but was never commercially marketed. In the 1970s and 80s, MDMA started to be manufactured in underground labs and sold on the street under names like “Ecstasy” and “Molly.”

Haislip again identified a need for proactive enforcement action against this emerging threat. In 1985, he led an initiative to use the DEA’s regulatory authority to emergency schedule MDMA as a Schedule I illegal drug for one year while permanent scheduling was pursued.

“We have never seen a drug go from relative obscurity to such widespread use so rapidly as MDMA. It is being used by high school and even grammar school students at parties called ‘ecstasy parties.'” – Gene Haislip, DEA, 1985

This emergency scheduling took effect in July 1985. MDMA was then permanently classified as a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act in 1986.

While MDMA use later rebounded in the 1990s during the rave scene, Haislip’s quick action in the mid-1980s disrupted the initial rapid growth of MDMA into mainstream recreational use.

Lasting Legacy

The innovative approaches Gene Haislip pioneered at the DEA – identifying and intercepting drug manufacturing chemicals and emergency scheduling of emerging threats – proved highly effective in tackling the Quaalude and early MDMA epidemics.

These strategies have now become standard practice in drug law enforcement. Haislip showed that being proactive against both drug supply networks and emerging trends is critical.

Haislip’s pragmatic, scientific approach to the realities of drugs and addiction also set him apart from the often moralistic tone of drug warriors. He advocated for policy changes like needle exchanges that reduce harm, and recognized that eradication of drugs is impossible.

After retiring in 1997, Haislip continued advocating for reforming America’s drug laws and adopting harm reduction policies that treat addiction as a public health issue rather than solely a criminal justice matter.

Gene Haislip’s pioneering work at the DEA in the 1980s disrupted recreational Quaalude and MDMA use when it was first spreading. The innovative strategies he implemented continue to serve as models for effective drug law enforcement today.

References

Interviews – Gene Haislip | The Meth Epidemic | FRONTLINE – PBS. (2006, February 14). PBS. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/meth/interviews/haislip.html

The Quaalude Lesson | The Meth Epidemic | FRONTLINE – PBS. (2006, February 14). PBS. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/meth/faqs/quaaludes.html

HE SILENT ASSAULT ON AMERICANS WITH ADDICTIONS: DEA FLOODING AMERICA’S STREETS WITH NARCOTICS WHILE CONGRESS GIVES TACIT APPROVAL. (2016, January 4). The Sober World. https://www.thesoberworld.com/2016/01/04/silent-assault-americans-addictions-dea-flooding-americas-streets-narcotics-congress-gives-tacit-approval/

[PDF] DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION MUSEUM LECTURE SERIES GENE HAISLIP SEAN FERNS 00:00:24:11 SF. (n.d.). DEA Museum. https://museum.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2021-09/The%20Chemical%20Connection%2010252007–Accessible.pdf

[PDF] A two part prescription to stop the methamphetamine epidemic Sean Welsh Bachelo. (n.d.). American University. https://dra.american.edu/islandora/object/1011capstones%3A86/datastream/PDF/view

DEA Will Ban Hallucinogen Known to Users as ‘Ecstasy’ – The Washington Post. (1985, June 1). The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1985/06/01/dea-will-ban-hallucinogen-known-to-users-as-ecstasy/fdb957cc-edcb-4ad3-ae5b-7a350591cb1d/