Drug Policy in the Americas: A Conversation with Gil Kerlikowske

The CSIS Americas Program is pleased to invite you to:

Drug Policy in the Americas: A Conversation with Gil Kerlikowske

Earlier this year, the Obama Administration released the 2012 National Drug Control Strategy - the primary blueprint for U.S. drug policy.  The new Strategy aims to pursue a "third way" approach to the hemispheric drug problem by outlining a series of alternatives to a law enforcement centric "war on drugs" on the one hand or drug legalization on the other.  Acknowledging that the global drug threat is a public health issue, not a criminal justice issue, the Administration has proposed a series of reforms based on the notion that drug addiction is a disease that can be prevented and treated; people with substance abuse disorders can recover; and innovative new criminal justice reforms can stop the revolving door of drug use, crime, incarceration, and rearrest.

The Administration's Strategy also underscores the increasingly globalized nature of narcotics consumption, with recent shifts in the global cocaine market from the United States to Europe and South America.  To discuss new data on cocaine use, recent developments in the Americas related to drug policy, and continued efforts by the U.S. government to strengthen security partnerships with Central American nations, the CSIS Americas Program is pleased to host Gil Kerlikowske, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy since May 2009.

Featuring:

R. Gil Kerlikowske
Director, White House Office on National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)

Introduction by:

Ambassador David T. Johnson
Former Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
CSIS Senior Adviser