The WOD was certainly emphasized under RR, but Nixon started it when he converted the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (BNDD - ominous sounding, eh?) to the DEA.
In the early 70s, the DEA became fixated on cocaine even though there wasn't much of a market for it (in '71 you could buy an ounce of coke for about $100, but nobody wanted it.) The DEA appropriated $10 million to set up street buys of coke and the chase was on!
The DEA actually helped to create the market for coke.