Subject: Statement of the First Conference of the INCDP
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Statement of the First Conference of the International Network of Cities on
Drug Policy Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.
November 16-17, 1993
Key points of agreement among conference delegates:
1. The war on drugs has failed to reduce drug-related problems in the
worlds major cities. Meanwhile, the profits from narco-trafficking
constitute an ongoing threat to the stability of civil societies.
2. Heavy commitment to and enforcement of drug prohibition has exacerbated
several of the problems of the cities, disproportionately affecting
children and racial minorities. In particular, drug prohibition enriches
and empowers criminals far beyond the understanding of most of our
citizens, making the crime problem seemingly intractable.
3. It is important for drug control policies to distinguish between the
problems caused by drug use and the problems caused by drug prohibition.
4. Cities must be the laboratories of changes in drug policy, because
national governments worldwide are still dominated by advocates of
continuing and expanding drug prohibition. New urban drug policies modeled
after those in place in some European and Australian cities hold the best
promise for the future.
5. A new network of cities, to be called the International Network of
Cities on Drug Policy, shall bolster the efforts of city officials
worldwide to craft new, more effective approaches to the problems presented
by drugs in our societies.
Discussion:
The purpose of the First Conference of the International Network of
Cities on Drug Policy has been to provide city representatives from around
the world a chance to learn about alternative approaches to drug policy.
Many of the featured speakers have pioneered progressive drug control
strategies in their cities. These strategies focus on treating drug use and
chemical dependency as health and social issues, not criminal problems, in
marked contrast to the law enforcement-oriented strategies favored by most
urban, national and international governments and institutions.
This conference encouraged open discussion, debate and disagreement. The
spirit of the conference and of the new International Network of Cities on
Drug Policy is one of seeking effective, politically achievable new
approaches to drug control. Delegates to the conference included promoters
of harm reduction measures such as those in place in many European and
Australian cities, advocates of outright legalization of some drugs for
adults and also law enforcement officials concerned primarily with
preventing and punishing many types of crime. Their views were important
throughout the conference and they will continue to be valued in the new
cities network.
There was little disagreement, if any, over the fact that the
international war on drugs has failed. Delegates favorably discussed the
main points of the Resolution for a Federal Commission on Drug Policy,1
which describes the drug wars failures and the threats its prosecution
presents to society. In light of this failure, the resolution calls for the
United States government to appoint a special commission of distinguished
experts to examine alternatives to the war approach at the national level.
While expressing support for the Resolution for a Federal Commission on
Drug Policy, the delegates recognized that the immediate need for change in
drug policy is at the urban level. Therefore, many will return home to
their cities and encourage the development of city-level commissions to
re-examine their drug control policies and to craft new approaches. It was
a widely shared sentiment that change must happen first at the city level
if the national debate on drug policy is to change.
The delegates expressed concern over the effect of international treaties
on illegal drugs that constrain efforts to implement new policies that vary
from the conventional efforts at drug suppression. It is believed that
these treaties must be re-examined to permit harm reduction programs and
other similar programs sufficient leeway to operate.
The delegates made it clear that they recognize the many difficulties
faced by the worlds cities, including crime, violence, racism, poverty,
lack of education and the spread of deadly disease. Most agree, however,
that the war on drugs exacerbates these problems and creates others,
despite its failure to contain drug-related problems.
Delegates expressed concern that insufficient attention is paid to the
abuse of chemical solvents and inhalants under current strategies.
The delegates do not believe that implementing new drug strategies will
provide a sweeping solution to the problems of the cities. Despite any new,
necessary shifts in policies toward drug users, the criminal underworld
profiting from drug trafficking will continue to grow stronger under the
framework of drug prohibition. Crime and violence will therefore remain
major problems. However, the delegates agree that moving toward
liberalization of previously strict, enforcement-oriented drug policies can
reduce the harms to individuals and society caused by the use and abuse of
drugs. As a result, the cities will be in a substantially better position
to deal with the other problems.
The majority of conference delegates see great promise in some European
and Australian city policies falling under the broad umbrella of harm
reduction policies. Such policies also include elements of medicalization,
or giving doctors and the health care system a dominant role in drug
policy, and placing a lower priority on imposing criminal penalties for
drug consumption and possession of personal use amounts of banned drugs.
A track record of success has been developed by progressive drug policies
in key cities in the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, England and
Australia. In addition, cities across the United States have adopted
elements of harm reduction programs, with New Haven leading the way in
terms of comprehensive programs. Consistently, the new policies have
reduced crime by drug users, curbed the spread of disease, increased the
numbers of drug users seeking treatment and improved the quality of life
for many residents.
A useful model for urban drug policy within the framework of drug
prohibition was presented to the delegates. Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke of
Baltimore, co-host of the conference with the Washington, D.C.-based Drug
Policy Foundation, unveiled a new drug control plan for his city that
provides a good example of a new direction for cities now operating under
the drug war model, both in the United States and in other countries.
Borrowing from the experiences of other cities, Mayor Schmoke, acting on
recommendations from the Mayors Working Group on Drug Policy Reform, would
implement the following new drug policies:
1. Support needle exchange programs.
2. Expand drug treatment and bring doctors and other elements of the health
care system into the array of treatment providers.
3. Expand drug maintenance options by broadening distribution of methadone,
while researching the use of other drugs as alternatives to black market
substances.
4. Review criminal justice priorities to focus on major drug traffickers
and violent crime, not small-scale drug offenses.
5. Create a Drug Court to divert non-violent drug offenders into drug
treatment and away from incarceration.
It was the sense of the delegates that these policies proposed by Mayor
Schmoke represent the right direction for cities moving away from
traditional war strategies. However, the more comprehensive policies
already in place in key European and Australian cities present a fuller
picture of the necessary future of drug policy. Many of these cities have
crafted policies whose principles are either echoed in or derived from the
Frankfurt Resolution. This resolution was begun in 1990 at a conference of
European cities afflicted by vast problems related to drug trafficking and
chemical dependency. The Frankfurt Resolution has served as the basis for
the activities of a network, the European Cities on Drug Policy, which
promotes harm reduction and helps cities move in that direction. Most
delegates to this conference agreed that the Frankfurt Resolution
illuminates the path to more sensible, effective drug strategies for the
period in which drug prohibition remains the dominant paradigm
internationally.
Many of the cities represented at this conference will be charter members
of the new International Network of Cities on Drug Policy. This new network
will be built on the experiences of the European Cities on Drug Policy, and
will include ECDP cities as well as cities in Australia and North and South
America.
Through a computer network, annual conferences and an exchange program of
member city officials, the INCDP will help cities devise new strategies,
share information and advocate for changes in national and international
law to accommodate their harm reduction strategies. The INCDP plans to
attend both the harm reduction conference in Toronto in March 1994 and the
ECDP conference later that fall. The INCDP will then hold its own annual
conferences beginning in 1995.
1 The Resolution for a Federal Commission on Drug Policy was drafted in
February 1993 at a meeting of distinguished citizens at the Hoover
Institution on War, Revolution and Peace at Stanford University. It has
subsequently been signed by hundreds of political leaders, academics,
medical and legal professionals, business leaders and concerned citizens,
demonstrating the wide recognition of the drug wars failure and the need
for change.
It is the desire of many of the conference delegates that the Commission
exist for a limited time to issue recommendations on new directions in drug
policy.
