Latin American experts concluded an International Seminar on Public Drug Policy, held in Costa Rica, July 7-11, 2008.  It was organized by the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) of the Secretariat for Multidimensional Security of the Organization of American States (OAS), in collaboration with the Costa Rican Institute on Drugs (ICD) and the Institute on Alcoholism and Drug Dependency of Costa Rica (IAFA). The seminar was held in response to a shared need to promote integrated treatment models for improving drug dependency treatment systems.

The event was part of a series of CICAD initiatives in the area of drug dependency treatment, which are intended to enhance the interagency dialogue needed to establish medium- and long-term public policy strategies for drug treatment at the national, regional, and municipal levels.

Participants included experts from Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Spain.

During the past three years, Costa Rica has successfully implemented a comprehensive model for care, inspired by the experience of Comunidad Valenciana (Spain), where drug addicts receive care through a comprehensive public health system.  Among the models discussed, Chile’s was noteworthy in terms of its achievements, through the National Drug Control Council (CONACE), in developing integrated public policies.

Among the conclusions of the seminar, the following recommendations are noteworthy:

To develop strategies to reinforce the idea that drug dependency treatment is a right incumbent on the state, which has the obligation to find a solution through the development and implementation of necessary public policies, as well as on communities and public opinion.

To organize treatment services from a comprehensive perspective that takes the different aspects of care into account and enlists diverse sectors to play an active role in the treatment and social reinsertion of the affected population.

To view the treatment of people with problems resulting from drug use as an investment, with a direct impact on reductions in public spending for health and citizen security.  It is therefore important to ensure that necessary funds are available for these services and to conduct a thorough assessment of the economic impact of treatment.

To devote greater institutional efforts to sharing successful experiences, so that countries may adopt and/or adapt the model best suited to their needs and particular circumstances.

It should be noted that the countries are committed to the development of appropriate systems of care for treating drug abuse problems, to the expansion of services, to the search for wider coverage driven by increased local participation, to improved care through enhanced mechanisms for evaluation, and to human resources training in the treatment area.

This international effort coincides with the start of a recently established project, “EU-LAC Drug Treatment City Partnerships,” which is coordinated by CICAD with European Commission funding and provides for a series of activities over the next two years consisting of exchanges and collaboration between European, Latin American, and Caribbean cities.  More than 40 cities and towns on both sides of the Atlantic, including San Ramón, Costa Rica, are currently participating.

The CICAD organizers of the seminar have said that Costa Rica was selected as the meeting venue because the Commission is convinced that Costa Rica is a country with the political will and the institutional framework to tackle the problem of drug dependency.

To read the original Press Release in Spanish click here