A new generation of drug policy on the way

It is true that the debate on drugs has advanced a lot at the theoretical level in recent years, but the discourse needs to be transformed to obtain better results for Latin American and Caribbean policies and for the well-being of its citizens. This is one of the topics discussed at the COPOLAD III Annual Meeting, in which more than 43 drug agencies and more than 130 policy makers met in Asunción (Paraguay). The objective of the meeting was to share good practices and evidence to support policy practice.

The annual COPOLAD III meeting began with a technical seminar to discuss the urgency of connecting border and prison areas in the fight against drug trafficking, an issue addressed by the European programs Eurofront, PAcCTO and COPOLAD III. The meetings also addressed issues such as:

The budgetary difficulties in addressing social drug policies.
The need to improve intelligence services against drug trafficking finances and money laundering.
The importance of the labor insertion of people with problematic consumption.
The impact of the fight against drugs on the environment.
The new “Regional Initiative Team Europe for Latin America and the Caribbean: Partnership in Justice and Security”.

The delegations that attended the meeting highlighted the session’s efforts to address the coherence of drug policies within the framework of the 2030 Agenda, as well as the challenges posed by the program in relation to the integration of scientific evidence and innovation in public policy.

Finally, COPOLAD III participated in the High Level Meeting of the CELAC-EU Coordination and Cooperation Mechanism on Drugs where it presented its study on “Women and Drugs” and highlighted the need to take alternative measures to the incarceration of women for minor drug offenses.