No. 2, Year 4
Second Quarter 2006

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Commission Sees Prime Examples of Scientific Research Cooperation

While the central focus of the thirty ninth regular session of CICAD was on the Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism, its reports and reform, there was ample opportunity to hear about international collaboration on narcotcis control. One set of highlights were three guest speakers OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza; Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the U.S. National Institution on Drug Abuse (NIDA - see this issue's featured article), and Mr. Fernando Moreno, Chief of Area, Bureau for the Analysis and Prospective on Drug Trafficking, Laundering of Assets and Related Crimes, Ministry of the Interior of Spain. 

Another highlight was a strong emphasis from several delegations on research. Argentina and Brazil expounded on the importance of scientific research to understand the local ramifications of the drug problem and how governments were tackling the issue. See the session page for copies of presentations, speeches and reports.

To drive home this key point, there was a joint presentation of a comparative study of drug use by school-age children in nine South American countries, sponsored by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and CICAD in partnership with the national drug observatories.  Mr. Aldo Lale-Demoz, from the Peru regional office, represented UNODC. Dr. Francisco Cumsille, coordinator of the Inter-American Observatory on Drugs (OID), spoke about the statistical analysis applied to the results in the nine countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay). The report will be available in in the third quarter 2006.

Dr. Francisco Cumsille, the coordinator of the Inter-American Observatory on Drugs, Mr. Aldo Lale-Demoz of the  UNODC's Peru regional office, and Ignacio Vázquez Moliní of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) agreed to coordinate drug-related research among international and national organizations more closely.

There was a significant discussion about Bolivia's presentation, "The Policy of the Struggle against Illicit Drug Trafficking and the Revaluation of the Coca Leaf," made by Vice Minister of Social Defense Felipe Cáceres. The delegate explained how the government of newly elected President Evo Morales was implementing its narcotics control policy. Nearly all the delegates took the floor to discuss how the drug problem and policies to address it had an impact across national borders throughout the hemisphere.

The next CICAD meeting is scheduled for November 29 - December 1 in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia.

The meeting final report is available online, as well as all the relevant documents.

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