The War on Drugs is an American term usually applied to the United States government's campaign of drug prohibition, military aid, and military intervention, with the stated goal of reducing illegal drug trafficking. This initiative includes a series of drug policies intended to discourage the production, distribution and consumption of psychoactive drugs that participating governments and the United Nations have made illegal. The term was popularized by the media shortly after a press conference held on June 18, 1971 by United States President Richard Nixon, the day after the release of President Nixon's special message to Congress on the prevention and control of drug abuse, during which he declared drug abuse “public enemy number one”. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In June 2011, the Global Commission on Drug Policy released a critical report on the war on drugs, stating: “The global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world Fifty years after the inception of the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and years after President Nixon launched the US government's war on drugs, fundamental reforms in national and global drug control policies are underway urgently needed." The report has been criticized by organizations that oppose general drug legalization. On May 21, 2012, the United States government released an updated version of its drug policy. The director declared at the same time that this policy is something different from the "War on Drugs". Despite the more than $7 billion spent each year to arrest and prosecute nearly 800,000 people across the country for marijuana-related crimes in the United States, according to FBI reports, the federally funded monitoring agency Future Survey reports that approximately 85% of high school students believe marijuana is still “easy to get.” This figure has remained virtually unchanged since 1975, never falling below 82.7% in three decades of national surveys. The Drug Enforcement Administration says the number of marijuana users in the United States declined between 2000 and 2005, even as many states passed new medical marijuana laws that make it easier to access, although usage rates remain higher than in the 1990s according to the National Survey on. Drug use and health. A 2013 study found that prices for heroin, cocaine and cannabis fell from 1990 to 2007, but the purity of these drugs increased over the same period. The war on drugs is often called a political failure. Since taking office on June 30, 2016, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has waged a “war on drugs” that has led to the deaths of more than 7,000 Filipinos, mostly the urban poor. At least 2,555 of the killings were attributed to the Philippine National Police. Duterte and other senior officials have instigated and incited the killings in a campaign that could amount to crimes against humanity. The Philippine president sees drug dealing and addiction as “major obstacles to the Philippines' economic and social progress,” says John Gershman, an expert. on Philippine politics. The war on drugs is a cornerstone of Duterte's domestic policy and represents an extension of the policies he implemented early in his political career as mayor of Davao City. In December 2016, the United States!