Has the war against drugs accomplished anything? Statistics show that the numbers of prisoners incarcerated for drug offenses has increased dramatically over time. Select a year below to see the increase of the drug offender population in the federal prison system. YEAR:  Choose a year: 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 Total sentenced population Total sentenced drug offenders Percentage of sentenced prisoners who are drug offenders Source: Bureau of Prisons