PRESENTATION OF THE REPORT "THE DRUG PROBLEM IN THE AMERICAS"

Approximately 45% of all the cocaine users in the world live in the Americas, along
with approximately half the heroin users and a quarter of all marijuana users. The
consumption of cocaine paste, crac, inhalants, amphetamines and the a!use of
legal drugs has increased.
This consumption of prohi!ited drugs creates an illegal !usiness in our hemisphere
that generates some "5" !illion dollars in drug retail alone.
This illegal activity has led to the rise of giant transnational criminal networs,
which have expanded their activities to include, in addition to the production and
sale of controlled su!stances, the illegal tra#cing and sale of arms, piracy and
smuggling, human tra#cing, the control and exploitation of prostitution, theft,
illegal mining, idnapping and extortion, and the smuggling of migrants and organs,
among other criminal activities.
$n some of our countries, the activity of these criminals has resulted in massacres,
attacs carried out !y assassins, torture and deaths that have raised the death toll
to hundreds of thousands of people.
%oreover, it has led to the corruption of pu!lic and private o#cials at various levels
and caused damage to our economies and institutions that, in many cases,
jeopardi&es our democratic governance.
Although these are realities that a'ect each country di'erently, we are united !y
our concern over the pro!lem. The relationship !etween drugs and violence is one
of the main causes of fear amongst our citi&ens and has contri!uted to maing
security one of the most worrying issues for the citi&ens of the entire hemisphere.
This situation must !e faced with greater realism and e'ectiveness if we want to
move forward successfully. All of us who hold pu!lic responsi!ilities owe it to the
millions of women and men, young and old, mothers and fathers, girls and !oys who
today feel threatened to (nd clear answers and e'ective pu!lic policies to confront
this scourge.
The )eads of *tate and +overnment of the Americas, aware of this, moved forward
in ,artagena, one year ago when they gave an explicit mandate to the -rgani&ation
of American *tates, to .Analy&e the results of the current policy /on drugs0 in the
Americas and explore new approaches to strengthen this struggle and to !ecome
more e'ective.1
The 2eport, 3The 4rug 5ro!lem in the Americas,3 which $ now have the honor to
present to the 6eaders of the )emisphere !y way of his 7xcellency the 5resident of
,olom!ia, who was the ,hair of the *ummit of the Americas that commissioned it, is
the result of that e'ort. $n it, we have thoroughly examined the availa!le and
updated information a!out the si&e and characteristics of the consumption and the
!usiness of illicit drugs in our hemisphere, including their e'ects on the security of
our citi&ens, on the health of our peoples, and on the quality of our institutions and
their servants. To do so we have received valua!le contri!utions from pu!lic
servants, private specialists, academic experts and social and political leaders from
the entire hemisphere that contri!uted with their opinions, their inputs in speci(c
areas and, at all times, with their experience and goodwill.
8e have tried, in this 2eport, not to silence or hide anything. To show the pro!lem
just as it is and how it manifests itself in di'erent ways in our various countries and
su!9regions. To show the volume of money that changes hands and who !ene(ts
from it. To show how it erodes our social organi&ation and how it undermines the
health of our people, the quality of our governments and even our democracy.
8e called the (rst part of this 2eport the Analytical 2eport. $n it we o'er, in (rst
place, a de(nition of the pro!lem, an explanation of how we approached its analysis
and an examination of the reasons that led society to worry a!out the consumption
of certain su!stances and decide to put controls on them, due to the e'ects of
drugs on human health.
:ext we follow the entire process of drugs in the region, the part of the world in
which all of its stages are present in a dominant way; cultivation, production,
distri!ution and the (nal sale of controlled su!stances. $n each stage we review the
various forms this activity assumes, as well as its environmental impact and the
reaction of the *tate, its implications and its limitations.
8e also examined the consumption of the di'erent drugs in our countries, their
e'ects on social exclusion and the exercise of human rights, the possi!le forms of
treatment and prevention practiced today and, again, the reaction of our *tates.
There are two aspects connected with the process of the production, tra#cing and
consumption of drugs that deserve special attention.
The (rst is the so9called .drug economy.1 -ur 2eport contains an examination of the
pro(ts generated in each stage of the process, concluding that, while all pro(t in the
process, the greatest pro(ts are produced in the (nal stage, the sale to consumers.
The second aspect is an examination of the various forms of criminal violence
associated with the di'erent stages in the value chain of the illegal drug economy,
including that which taes place in during the consumption of these su!stances.
-n this point, we carefully considered the possi!le reasons why this violence taes
on greater intensity and virulence in some countries and, in particular, why the
greatest violence is not generated where the greatest pro(t is generated. The most
lethal criminality does not coincide with the greatest pro(t9maing. 5ro!a!ly, then,
there are other factors, such as greater or lesser institutional strength in our
countries and the greater impunity enjoyed !y criminals, which promotes the
violence lined to drugs.
<inally, we analy&e the legal and regulatory alternatives to address the pro!lem, in
particular their origins and characteristics, current trends in decriminali&ation,
reduction of penalties and legali&ation, the potential costs and !ene(ts of these
alternatives and the review of other legal alternatives.
The Analytical 2eport provides, we hope a succinct summary of the current reality of
the 4rug 5ro!lem. The 2eport on *cenarios for the 4rug 5ro!lem in the Americas
=>"?9=>=5 is an examination of the various paths that the phenomenon could tae
in the coming years.
8e are aware that there is not just one possi!le future !ut many alternative or
com!ined futures@ !ecause the complexity of the drug pro!lem gives rise to
di'erent visions or points of view, which are expressed in many de!ates. And, on
that !asis, various policy options can !e adopted with very di'erent consequences.
*tarting from that premise, a group of people, specialists and participants who have
dealt with the drug pro!lem from very di'erent angles, have set forth four
possi!ilities on what the .drug pro!lem1 in the Americas could !ecome in the
future.
:one of them represents what will happen or what we want to happen, !ut all of
them could come to pass if certain events tae place and if some political decisions
are taen. To understand these possi!ilities, to analy&e their causes and e'ects, and
to draw conclusions a!out them, is a tas that we consider not just useful !ut
necessary for our individual and collective reAections on the pro!lem.
Three of the four scenarios discussed 9 3Together3, 35athways3 and 32esilience3 B
descri!e alternative futures depending on the relative weight placed on institutional
strengthening, experimentation with legal changes or the a!ility to react to the
pro!lem from the community. The fourth, 34isruption,3 warns of what might happen
if we fail in the short term to arrive at a shared vision that allows us to unite our
e'orts to address the pro!lem, while at the same time respecting our diversity.
<rom each of these scenarios a variety of collective and multilateral opportunities
and challenges emerge that should !e leading factors in the su!sequent discussion.
8ith drugs, as with any complex social pro!lem, there is a wide range of
motivations and !eliefs that inAuence the social fa!ric. ThatCs why we !elieve that
the scenarios are a good starting point for our leaders and ultimately, our people, to
arrive at collective and sustaina!le policies in the midst of diversity.
5resident *antos;
As $ have said, !y mandating us to prepare this report, the )eads of *tate of our
hemisphere gave us a great responsi!ility. At the same time, they prescri!ed very
precise limits for our response to it. That is why we lay out facts that will assist in
decision9maing, !ut do not propose solutions. That it is up to our leaders, who will
have a (rm !asis for their deli!erations in future de!ates.
)owever, we have allowed ourselves to draw some general conclusions, found at
the end of the Analytical 2eport;
<irst, although the drug pro!lem in the Americas is expressed in a single process, it
allows for di'erent treatments in each of its phases and in the countries in which
they tae place.
The health pro!lems associated with su!stance a!use are certainly present in all
our countries, as there is evidence of drug use in all of them. )owever, although the
increase in consumption in *outh America is alarming, the use of drugs is still
greater in the countries in the north of :orth America, which, together with 7urope,
continues to !e the main destination for drug tra#cing from our hemisphere.
Dy contrast, the impact on the economy, social relations, security and democratic
governance is greater in the countries where cultivation, production and transit tae
place, located in *outh America, ,entral America, %exico and the ,ari!!ean.
*econd, while some countries have greater resources and stronger institutions to
!etter address damages related to the illicit maret and illegal drug use, others
su'er a clear institutional weaness that leads to a practical ina!ility to address the
pro!lem.
The lins !etween drugs and violence in our countries are complex, with greater
impact on those countries in which the *tate is not a!le to deliver e'ective
responses.
Those countries in which criminal activity reaches more intense levels of violence
and cruelty are also the countries where the geographical reach of institutions tends
to !e limited, which su'er from a lac of coordination and institutional articulation,
limited (nancial and human resources, and a lac of information needed to guide
the de(nition and implementation of security policies.
%oreover, there exists, a situation of widespread impunity, which explains the
existence of an equally widespread culture of lac of respect for the *tate. $n the
context of this lac of respect for the *tate, a vicious circle is created in which the
community decides not to use the institutions /crimes are not reported, disputes are
resolved privately, people tae justice into their own hands0 !ecause the police do
not chase o'enders, courts do not deliver justice, and prisons do not reha!ilitate
and often serve as a haven for criminals who continue to operate as such from
!ehind !ars.
8e recogni&e that there are pro!a!ly other conditions that help explain the rule of
crime and violence in some of our countries. That our individual histories as nations,
our cultures and idiosyncrasies and especially the situations of poverty and social
inequality that characteri&e some countries, are also present, in a decisive way, in
explaining this phenomenon. )owever, it seems equally undenia!le that at the core
of any solution there will always !e a need for formal institutions that e'ectively
ensure pu!lic security and truly ensure the welfare and prosperity of all.
Third, drug consumption requires a pu!lic health approach in all of our countries,
with more resources and more programs in order to succeed.
:ational, international and hemispheric policies on drugs have gradually adopted
the view of dependence as a chronic, relapsing disease, which requires a health9
oriented approach that integrates a wide range of policies. These include promoting
healthy lifestyles, protecting users with measures to limit the availa!ility of
psychoactive su!stances, prevention, treatment, reha!ilitation and social
reintegration.
4rug treatment should !e present at all levels of general and speciali&ed care in the
health system, with special emphasis on early detection and timely intervention at
the primary care level. $n our report we show that there is a signi(cant gap !etween
the vision of pu!lic health and care services for pro!lems of psychoactive su!stance
consumption in many of our countries.
<ourth, addressing the drug pro!lem requires a multi9pronged approach, with great
Aexi!ility, with an understanding of di'erent realities and, a!ove all, the !elief that,
to !e successful, we must maintain unity in diversity.
+reater Aexi!ility could certainly lead to acceptance of the possi!ility of changes in
national legislation or to promoting changes in international law. <rom there, if one
accepts the fundamental notion that drug use is not a criminal act, then users
should not !e su!ject to punishment, !ut to care and reha!ilitation.
Also, it is important to recogni&e that there is an ongoing de!ate a!out the
legali&ation or de9penali&ation of marijuana with initiatives underway in some of our
countries, as well as a disposition to deal with the issue that does not exist with
respect to other drugs, such as heroin, cocaine and amphetamines, where the
proposals for legali&ation or de9penali&ation are largely rejected.
:aturally none of these changes should put in dou!t the advances made thus far in
terms of collective action on drugs in our hemisphere, !ut rather should !uild, on
this !asis, more realistic policies, which consider the needs of the individual, and
also the needs of the whole.
$n that !alance !etween the individual and the collective, !etween national
sovereignty and multilateral action, we have !ased our coexistence and all the
associative structures that we have created in the course of our histories as nations
that are independent !ut united and supportive in the international arena.
5resident *antos, o#cials, distinguished guests.
8ith this, the -A* +eneral *ecretariat has responded to the explicit mandate that
the *ixth *ummit of the Americas conferred upon us.
Dy delivering this 2eport today, through you, we are encouraged !y the sincere
aspiration, which $ now have the privilege of presenting to the entire hemisphere,
that it is not a conclusion !ut only the !eginning of a long awaited discussion.
Than you.
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