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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 world's 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 war's 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 world's 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 Mayor's 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 war's 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.