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   Inter-American Observatory on Drugs: Building a Drug Information Network with and for the Americas

Time Line on Drugs in the Americas

Major milestones in international and hemispheric drug policy evolution are listed chronologically.

1961
Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (amended in 1972)
1971
Convention on Psychotropic Substances
June 1971
U.S. President Richard Nixon declares war on drugs in the U.S. as heroin use spikes due to returning Vietnam veterans.
1979
Drug use peaks, at 25 million, in the United States
June 1984
Colombia's Justice Minister, Ricardo Lara Bonilla, assassinated in Bogota, Colombia.
November 1984
OAS General Assembly mandates a conference on narcotrafficking
April 1986
Specialized Conference on Traffic in Narcotic Drugs finalizes the Inter-American Program of Action of Rio de Janeiro Against the Illicit Use and Production of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances and Traffic Therein
November 1986
OAS General Assembly approves Program of Action of Rio de Janeiro and creates CICAD
1988
United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances
February 1990
Presidents George Bush (USA), Virgilio Barco (Colombia), Jaime Paz (Bolivia) and Alan Garcia (Peru) issue the declaration of Cartagena
June 1990
OAS General Assembly adopted the Declaration and 20-point Program of Action of Ixtapa
June 1990
Model Regulations to Control Chemical Precursors and Chemical Substances, Machines, and Materials
December 1990
Creation of the Permanent Central American Commission for the Eradication of the Production Traffic, Consumption and Use of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotrpic Substances and Related Offenses (CCP)
1991
Inter-American Program of Quito: Comprehensive Education to Prevent Drug Abuse
May 1992
Model Regulations Concerning Laundering Offenses Connected to Illicit Drug Trafficking and Related Offenses
November 1996
Anti-Drug Strategy in the Hemisphere approved by CICAD and the concept of shared responsibility characterizes the approach
June 1997
OAS General Assembly opens CICAD membership to all eligible states (instead of 11 members elected by the Assembly)
April 1998
Second Summit of the Americas (Santiago, Chile) mandates the Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism (MEM)
June 1998
Model Regulations for the Control of the International Movement of Firearms
2000
Inter-American Observatory on Drugs created as the statistics, information and research branch of CICAD
May 2001
First Round Reports of the MEM (1999-2000) issued
May 2003
Second Round MEM Reports (2001-2003) issued
September 2004
Hemispheric Guidelines on School-based Prevention
May 2005
Third Round MEM Reports (2003-2004) issued
May 2006
Commission approves reforms in the MEM process for the Fourth Round (2005-2006)

Sources: Drugs War

   The Observer News: No. 3, Year 4, Second Quarter 2006