Drug issues reviewed.

• Author: Smith, Michael
• Position: OAS

DURING ITS MOST recent session, in early May, the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) heard reports about the upsurge in sales of controlled substances over the Internet and discussed international efforts to address this problem, as well as related issues such as the control of precursor chemicals and synthetic drugs. Several commissioners noted that the changing dynamics of narcotics trafficking were leading to new consumption patterns emerging in their countries, requiring new kinds of responses from governments, civil society, and the international community.

Speaking at the opening of the biannual meeting, which took place at OAS headquarters in Washington, DC, Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza praised CICAD for "its ability to adjust to the new realities" of the drug problem, adding that the 21-year-old agency "has come of age and has acquired the needed maturity to confront the major challenges called for in these times."

The complexity of the drug issue was evident throughout the three-day meeting. In the first study to take a comparative look at women, drugs and violence in the Americas, a research team funded by CICAD and the government of Brazil found a correlation between drug abuse and the psychological, physical, and sexual abuse of women. The pilot study surveyed nearly 1,000 low-income women in 11 Latin American countries and the United States.

The Commission was also informed about the startup of a major initiative to pair up European cities with counterparts in Latin America and...