No. 4 Year 4
Fourth Quarter 2006

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CICAD and European Commission Join Forces to Address Consequences of Drug Dependency

CICAD and the European Commission are launching a joint initiative to pair up cities from Europe with counterparts in Latin America and the Caribbean, forming partnerships to improve the treatment and rehabilitation of problematic drug users, and address other aspects of drug dependency at the municipal level. The European Commission is underwriting the program with a grant of 1.4 million euros (US$1.8 million) over three years.

Coordinated by the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD), the initiative will bring together mayors, local chief medical officers, drug treatment personnel and family court judges from paired cities in a sustained program of exchanges designed to share best practices, establish long-term partnerships, and develop new approaches to improve drug treatment and rehabilitation. For instance, the program will offer opportunities for cities to look at alternatives to incarceration, such as community-service options and special drug courts for petty offenders who are drug-dependent. It will also include outreach efforts to help bring current drug users into contact with available health services.

The European Commission and CICAD have recognized that cities across both regions — in 34 OAS member states and the 27 countries of the European Union — have much to learn from each other.

A first forum is being planned for March 2008.