Addicted CW veterans were in their 60s by 1906, and in their 70s by 1914. If you accept that there were large numbers of addicted veterans, then a large decline from 1880-1920 was already in the cards.
I am going primarily from my own knowledge on the matter, not by DOJ's numbers.
What are the specific addiction numbers you are using for each of the periods we've been discussing, including 1980-2000, and what is your source for each of them?
I will grant you that the government numbers often favor the WoD, but likewise, the material offered by the other side are likewise biased in their own favor, and take a fairly paranoid view, without reason.
The thing is, the fedgov agencies charged with leading the WOD have apparently decided that these are the best addiction numbers, and are presenting them to the public. In the court of public opinion, this is like an expert witness for the prosecution giving testimony favorable to the defense.
As I have already asserted, the *gigantic* rise came with the hippies in the 60's (Perhaps because of Viet Nam too, to some degree), and ran through to 1980, where there was a decided drop during Reagan's terms, Then right back at it, unabated, till today.
So the increasingly harsh laws failed to prevent or stop addiction in its tracks during the 1960s and 1970s, then they did stop it in the Reagan years, then they didn't after the Reagan years. And then despite getting ramped up to cabinet level status under Bush I in 1989, addiction still resumed its upward march.
It is beyond a stretch, IMO, to assign causality to the laws for any declines in addiction during this period.
The thing is, the fedgov agencies charged with leading the WOD have apparently decided that these are the best addiction numbers, and are presenting them to the public.
By "best addiction numbers" I mean the most accurate addiction numbers available, in the judgement of the DOJ/DEA.