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   Inter-American Observatory on Drugs: Building a Drug Information Network with and for the Americas
No. 1, Year 4
First Quarter 2006

 

MEM at the crossroads

The Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism (MEM) has reached a turning point in its evolution as the western hemisphere's standard instrument for measuring progress by OAS member states and by the hemisphere as a whole in all aspects of the drug problem. Having just completed the Third Evaluation Round (2003-2004) and ready to undertake the next one (2005-2006), the MEM has come a long way since it was conceived in 1998 as an expression of shared responsibility for the drug problem in the Americas. This issue has two articles that take a closer look at this unique instrument for building trust and an example of how to engage productively in multilateral cooperation.

CICAD Commission meets to assess reports

The thirty-ninth regular session of CICAD will be held in Washington, DC on May 9-11. It will focus primarily on reviewing and approving new guidelines for the MEM as it monitors each country's performance in fighting illicit drugs. It will also approve the final reports on implementation of recommendations for 34 countries and the hemisphere-wide assessment from the 2003-2004 evaluation.

Peer review process gets streamlined

MEM procedures and indicators underwent a final round of evaluation by an expert group to determine how to make it a more effective instrument for policy makers in the fight against illicit drugs in the hemisphere in late February. Find out more...

Charting the Future

36th session of the CommissionCICAD Executive Secretary James Mack recently spoke at the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna, Austria in mid-March. He provided an overview of how the MEM has evolved over the past three evaluation cycles, underscored its strengths and demonstrated how it is adapting to the changing realities of the drug problem in the hemisphere. Find out more...

United Nations and CICAD join forces on household surveys on drug use

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and CICAD are combining forces under a new kind of collaborative arrangement with the governments of six South American countries to co-sponsor household surveys of drug use this year. CICAD and the UNODC, through its lead regional office in Peru, are providing seed money for the project. CICAD's Inter-American Observatory on Drugs (OID) will provide technical expertise, building on its long-term working relationship with each member state. The national drug observatories of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Uruguay, Ecuador and Peru are responsible for the actual studies, as well as underwriting more than half the estimated budget.

By mustering the support of international and national organizations to carry out these epidemiological surveys on drug use together, the alliance ensures the long-term impact of the investment. "An effort to do these studies separately would not have been as cost effective or guarantee results that are comparable among countries," says James Mack, CICAD Executive Secretary.

CICAD and UNODC are already planning the next phase of the partnership in 2007. OID Coordinator Francisco Cumsille and Aldo Lale Demoz of the Peru UNODC office see this type of cooperation as a model to be followed by other international organizations. There is no formal agreement between CICAD and UNODC yet, just a commitment to work together as closely and productively as possible.

CICAD's Demand Reduction Unit brings international expertise to national programs

Workshop participant maps out project logicCICAD's Demand Reduction Unit, with the support of the governments of Spain and Canada, held a regional five-day workshop on prison treatment for offenders in Antigua, Guatemala, February 27 - March 3. With the participation of some 50 professionals from seven countries (Guatemala, Panamá, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Dominican Republic) and the technical assistance of experts from Canada, Spain, Perú, Venezuela and the United States, the country delegations drafted an action plan based on guidelines on counseling and treatment techniques given to them through the workshop in order to establish their own system in their countries. A hemispheric declaration was also written during the closing session, which will be released at the thirty-ninth regular session of CICAD in May, 2006.

Caribbean Reach: Continuing with this active approach of collaborating across national and disciplinary frontiers, there were also two workshops on program evaluation in the Caribbean that tapped into regional expertise. Find out more...

News

Multicolor paper currencyMoney laundering workshops: CICAD's Anti-Money Laundering Unit carried out two workshops recently, a training session in Santo Domingo, Domincan Republic on February 24-25 and a simulated investigation and mock trial in La Antigua, Guateamla on February 27-March 3. Find out more...

Online Addiction Studies for the Caribbean: An online continuing education program in drug addiction studies is currently under development in a joint initiative between CICAD and the University of the West Indies (UWI). Aimed at addressing needs in the Caribbean, it will be a capacity-building program for professionals to study substance abuse prevention and treatment. Depending on available funds and institutional commitments, the CICAD-UWI partnership plans to have 10 course modules ready by the end of the 2006-2007 academic year, followed by an expansion next year.

Schools of Education to use more drug-related content in programs: the representatives from 14 Latin American schools of education met in Costa Rica in early March to work with CICAD's Educational Development and Research Unit (EDRU) to see how drug-related content might be incorporated into the curricula at the undergraduate and graduate levels. EDRU is working to expand its pioneering program with Latin American nursing schools and drug-related issues into new areas, such as schools of public health, medicine and now education.

Cacao producers introduced to new technology: CICAD-backed ACCESO (Andean Countries Cocoa Export Support Opportunity) brought together more than 100 participants from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru March 6-8 in Quevedo, Ecuador to hear about applied technology for the cacao crop. The workshop included seminars and site visits that highlighted plant agronomy and breeding, biological control, quality control and marketing. ACCESO is an alliance among private business, international organizations and national governments that aims to promote the sustainable development of cacao. Alternative Development

Website Updates: the Final Report of the thirty-eighth session of CICAD (December 2005) is now available. In late March, CICAD Executive Secretary gave testimony before the Western Hemisphere Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, with written statement available online.

Announcements

Supply Reduction: Training seminar (one week) on the inspection/search of vessels for illicit drugs and related contraband for officers of Central American member states in collaboration with the Government of France (Customs) in Santa Marta, Colombia (May 15 - 19) ::: CICAD joins with the Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council (CCLEC) to hold a workshop on the control of precursor chemicals, British Virgin Islands, June 5-9. ::: Andean Community Regional Counter-drug Intelligence School (ERCAIAD) will hold a seminar on Strategic Intelligence (4 week seminar: June 19 - July 14 in Lima). Contact Rafeal Parada for more information.

CICAD's programs promote organic bananasAn Alternative Development Seminar and Trade Fair in the Andean Region is to take place in Bogotá, Colombia on April 3. Sponsored by United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC), French Embassy in Bogotá, the French food retail company CARREFOUR and CICAD, it will raise the commercial profile of substitute crops from Peru, Columbia, and Bolivia. Mexico will also be sending an exhibit and participants.

Find more details on here.

Online Resources: Methamphetamine

Paraphenalia for consumping meth This psychostimulant affects the central nervous system. It poses a unique threat because most of the necessary chemicals are readily available in household products or over-the counter medicines. It can be cooked up on a hot plate for personal consumption or in a factory-like lab for mass production. This makes methamphetamine appear unusually easy to make, unlike cannabis and cocaine, which are both harvested directly from plants. But the chemical process is extremely dangerous. It also produces toxic byproducts. In the United States, it has cropped up in the least expected places, like the rural Western states.

Makeshift lab for manufacturing methaamphedaminesBecause of the increased threat profile and increasing news media coverage, special online reference material has been brought together. We have selected sources that should maintain their information current and also point to other relevant information elsewhere on the web, in the news media or in public health literature:


   The Observer News: No. 1, Year 4, First Quarter 2006

This quarterly newsletter is published electronically and circulated to encourage discussion and comment. The findings, interpretations, judgments, and conclusions expressed in this newsletter are those of the author(s) and should not be attributed to CICAD/OAS.

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Inter-American Observatory on Drugs (OID)
Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD)
Organization of American States (OAS)

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