FOREWORD
For the third time in as many years, Mexican and American officials and experts gathered at a bi-national conference to collaborate in reducing drug use in both countries. The understanding,
goodwill, cooperation and work products generated during and in preparation for these
conferences demonstrate what can result when suspicion and blame are set aside for the
common good. With each successive conference, bi-national relationships and tools were
created that can continue to effectively serve the people of the United States and Mexico
throughout the normal periodic changes in leadership that take place in both countries.
While Mexico and the United States have worked together on drug issues for many years, our
collaboration took dramatic steps forward under the leadership of Presidents Zedillo and Clinton,
prompted in part by the greater economic interdependency fostered during their administrations
by the creation and implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. In March
1996 the U.S.-Mexico High Level Contact Group for Drug Control (HLCG) was created. In May
1997 at the Mexico City Summit, the two presidents signed a 16-point Alliance against Drugs
designed to strengthen our nations’ joint commitment to reducing drug use. Then in February
1998 the two countries produced a Bi-National Drug Strategy that committed both nations to
specific measures in the fight against illegal drugs. Both documents reinforce our commitment to
reduce the availability of drugs through aggressive interdiction, tough law enforcement and
sound judicial processes, but their first priority is together meeting the challenge of eliminating the demand for drugs in both countries.
One of the demand reduction measures in the Bi-National Drug Strategy was to convene a bi-national conference on demand reduction. The first conference, held in El Paso, Texas, USA, in
March 1998, was exploratory in nature. Over 250 researchers, practitioners, and treatment and
prevention experts in both countries gathered to share their expertise, exchange ideas, and
strengthen our shared ability to reduce drug use. From the conference came the beginnings of a
framework for joint efforts in demand reduction. Working groups generated explicit strategies in
eight areas including research cooperation and the exchange of technical information, public
awareness, community participation, youth, special populations, the workplace, HIV/AIDS, and
violence and drug-related problems.
Between the first and second conferences, the bi-national demand reduction working group
formed by the HLCG developed Performance Measures of Effectiveness (PMEs) to implement the
strategies conceived at the first conference. The group identified 108 target actions, 22 of which were bi-national in nature. Before the second conference, 19 of those bi-national target actions were accomplished.
Over 300 people attended the second Bi-National Conference on Demand Reduction June 1999 in
Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. The PMEs developed between conferences to implement the
first year’s workgroup strategies were reviewed, adjusted, and supplemented by the second
year’s workgroups (reduced to five from eight: research, treatment, prevention, public
awareness, and the workplace). Participants were encouraged and excited by all that had been
accomplished between conferences and were anxious to build on that momentum.
In addition to plenary sessions and work groups, this second conference featured pre-conference professional development workshops and guided tours to Tijuana research and treatment and prevention centers. Also, special sessions were held for representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) involved in prevention and treatment and for youth participants. Among other actions, the youth agreed to work toward the creation of a Bi-National Youth Organization Coalition for the Prevention and Control of Addictions.
The third Bi-National Demand Reduction Conference, which is described in these proceedings,
met in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, in May 2000. Building on the accomplishments of the prior two
conferences, this conference’s objectives were:
- To identify future needs within drug control policy and ways the U.S. and Mexico can work
domestically and bi-nationally, benefiting from one another’s ideas and experiences;
- To bring together key policy makers, researchers, community members, and others from
both countries to encourage networking, information sharing, and long-term relationships;
- To develop a bi-national research agenda;
- To expand bi-national youth-oriented substance abuse treatment and prevention efforts;
- To expand bi-national linkages and exchange of technical expertise in the field of substance
abuse treatment, especially within the criminal justice system.
The 2000 conference brought together 426 participants for 2½ days of meetings. It was
preceded by a research symposium and by three concurrent sessions for non-researchers:
Advancements in Prevention Interventions; Advancements in Treatment Interventions; and
Initiating and Evaluating Public Awareness Campaigns. Throughout the conference, workshops
were organized along three tracks: Prevention, Treatment, and a new emphasis: Linking the
Public Health and Public Safety Systems. While these were going on, youth participants
convened the first annual meeting of the Bi-National Youth Organization Coalition for the
Prevention and Control of Addictions that had been organized the year before. A fourth bi-national conference is scheduled for September 2001 in Mexico.
