Press Release

For Immediate Release:
Contact: Rafael Lemaitre 202–395–6618
Thursday, September 19, 2002

(Washington, DC)—The Western Hemispheric Leadership Conference has succeeded in moving towards increased hemispheric cooperation with respect to reducing the supply and demand of drugs. Thirty-four delegations from South America, North America and the Caribbean met from September 16-18 in Reston, Virginia to discuss ways in which participant nations can prevent drug use before it begins, heal addicted drug users, and disrupt the market for illegal drugs.

Director Walters stated, "The nations represented at this conference understand the devastating impact drug abuse has on communities throughout our hemisphere and the necessity for a balanced drug control policy. Drug consumption and trafficking bring violence, misery and addiction throughout the world. Together, we have explored concrete ways to prevent drug use before it starts, heal those who are addicted and attack the economic basis of the drug trade."

Representatives from the participant nations accomplished the following:

• Issued an alert on the dangerous proliferation of synthetic drugs in the Western Hemisphere
• Proposed that the Organization of American States convene an annual technical research conference, in cooperation with the National Institute on Drug Abuse, to develop national and regional drug abuse prevention and treatment programs based on scientific evidence
• Encouraged Western Hemisphere countries to devote a higher percentage of their national budgets to research on the drug problem
• Noted with urgent concern the emergence of transnational criminal entrepreneurs whose trafficking in illicit drugs of all kinds, and in weapons, illicit profits, terrorism and women and children for purposes of sexual exploitation demands significantly increase international police and intelligence cooperation
• Reaffirmed and stressed the crucial need for a holistic, multidisciplinary approach that integrates drug demand and supply reduction programs, and that relies on community support and action
• Suggested that governments devote more resources to improving and expanding their drug treatment and rehabilitation programs.
• Reinforced the crucial role that National Drug Commissions (or "Drug Czars" and domestic inter-agency cooperation and coordination play in ensuring the effective implementation of antidrug programs.
• Agreed that directly addressing corruption is a critical component of illicit drug control.
• Judged that the OAS Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism (MEM), has shown promise as a useful instrument of international cooperation on the persistent, shared problem of drug trafficking and abuse.