Youre fundamentally confusing what “political rhetoric” is versus what a legal action is. Calling the war on drugs a war doesnt make it a war with any actual legal modifications for anything.
Calling the war on drugs a war is a political justification for the actions taken against drug use. Therefore, calling the war on drugs a war is not a legal thing. Its just political rhetoric.
I dont see how else to explain that for you
Youre really misunderstanding what declaring an actual war is or is not. Technically the US has not been in an actual declared war since WWII.
The Vietnam War, the Korean War, the Iraq wars, none of those were declared as actual war by congress. The war on drugs is just political rhetoric and has no actual legal bearing.
You cant declare formal war on drug use because drug use isnt a recognized sovereign country
In the military, doing something to surprise a commanding officer is among the highest displays of respect. Especially if you can make it costs tens of millions of dollars