Drug control in the Americas.

• Position: OAS - Brief article

The inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) published its latest report on the progress of drug control in the region this past July. The report recommends that countries strengthen their anti-drug policies in the following areas: control of illicit trafficking, pharmaceutical products, money laundering, and ratification of international conventions recommended by the Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism (MEM); implementation of drug prevention programs, as well as evaluation and expansion of coverage of existing programs. Furthermore, member states ate advised to establish national registries of public officials formally accused and convicted of illicit drug trafficking.

"This new MEM report and above all the recommendations contained in it ate an essential reference for anyone involved in designing drug policies in our hemisphere," OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza said.

The document also points out that, according to epidemiological studies conducted by 33 countries between 2006 and 2009, marijuana, after alcohol and tobacco, is...