Editing Drug prohibition (section)

===War on Drugs===
{{main|War on Drugs}}
[[File:DEA Operation Mallorca, 2005.jpg|thumb|American drug law enforcement agents detain a man in 2005.]]
[[File:Afghanistan 16.jpg|thumb|[[Opium poppies]] growing in [[Afghanistan]], a major source of drugs today]]

In response to rising drug use among young people and the [[Counterculture of the 1960s|counterculture]] movement, government efforts to enforce prohibition were strengthened in many countries from the 1960s onward. Support at an international level for the prohibition of [[psychoactive drug]] use became a consistent feature of United States policy during both Republican and Democratic administrations, to such an extent that US support for foreign governments has often been contingent on their adherence to US [[drug policy]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}} Major milestones in this campaign include the introduction of the [[Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs]] in 1961, the [[Convention on Psychotropic Substances]] in 1971 and the [[United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances]] in 1988. A few developing countries where consumption of the prohibited substances has enjoyed longstanding cultural support, long resisted such outside pressure to pass legislation adhering to these conventions. [[Nepal]] only did so in 1976.<ref>Charles, Molly (2001). [http://www.india-seminar.com/2001/504/504%20molly%20charles.htm "The drug scene in India"]. India-seminar.com. Retrieved May 25, 2012.</ref><ref>[http://www.unodc.org/pdf/india/publications/south_Asia_Regional_Profile_Sept_2005/12_nepal.pdf UNODC: Nepal, Executive Summary]. (PDF). Retrieved May 25, 2012.</ref>

In 1972, United States President [[Richard Nixon]] announced the commencement of the so-called "War on Drugs". Later, [[Ronald Reagan|President Reagan]] added the position of [[drug czar]] to the [[Executive Office of the President of the United States|President's Executive Office]]. In 1973, [[New York (state)|New York]] introduced [[mandatory sentence|mandatory minimum sentences]] of 15 years to [[life imprisonment]] for possession of more than {{convert|4|oz|g|order=flip|0}} of a so-called [[Hard and soft drugs|hard drug]], called the [[Rockefeller drug laws]] after New York Governor and later Vice President [[Nelson Rockefeller]]. Similar laws were introduced across the United States.

California's broader '[[three strikes law|three strikes and you're out]]' policy adopted in 1994 was the first [[mandatory sentencing]] policy to gain widespread publicity and was subsequently adopted in most United States jurisdictions. This policy mandates life imprisonment for a third criminal conviction of any felony offense. A similar 'three strikes' policy was introduced to the United Kingdom by the Conservative government in 1997. This legislation enacted a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years for those convicted for a third time of a drug trafficking offense involving a class A drug.