Bi-National Demand
Reduction Conference Overview
Since its inception in March 1996, the U.S. and Mexico High Level Contact Group on Drug Control (HLCG) has worked to strengthen cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico and to elevate the priority of drug demand reduction issues within and between the two governments.
The U.S.-Mexico High Level Contact Group Bi-National Demand Reduction Conference represented an important and innovative first cooperative step by our two nations to reduce drug demand. In May 1997, at the Mexico City Summit, President Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León and President William J. Clinton signed the Alliance Against Drugs, which was designed to strengthen our nations' joint commitment to reducing drug abuse. This agreement included 16 Alliance Points, the first of which focused on reducing drug demand by means of anti-drug information. In February 1998, the United States and Mexico agreed to a Bi-National Strategy committing both nations to specific measures in their fight against illegal drugs. An important aspect of that shared effort is taking the cooperative steps needed to reduce drug demand and eliminate the drug problem at its roots.
This unique conference brought together experts in prevention, treatment, and research as well as government officials, educators, and community leaders from both countries to address the causes and consequences of drug abuse. During the course of two-and-a-half days of meetings, more than 300 experts from Mexico and the United States discussed setting up an appropriate framework for demand reduction, reviewed current drug-use trends, and, most importantly, worked in smaller groups to develop explicit strategies in eight pivotal areas.
The recommendations of the eight working groups had several common themes, which included: the need for increased funding for improving bilateral cooperation in training and research, in the sharing of scientific and technical information, and in the creation of joint prevention programs. Detailed strategies proposed in each of the specific areas are summarized in this report.
As these proceedings amply demonstrate, conference discussions were candid, lively, and, ultimately, highly productive. Participants took seriously the task of improving bi-national cooperation and bridging cultural, linguistic, and national boundaries with mutual respect for their differences. The interest and enthusiasm of the participants were contagious and persistent; as many people attended the final session as did the initial plenary session.
Most importantly, as the speakers at the closing session noted, the "products" of the conference were not limited to the participants' shared enthusiasm or to their specific recommendations in the eight areas involved in demand reduction. Rather, the group began to take concrete steps to make those recommendations a reality. Participants initiated cooperative efforts within their shared areas of professional and geographical interest. The continued expansion of those joint international efforts is likely to be this conference's most enduring accomplishment.
