Workshop on “Social Policies, Justice and Drug Treatments in the Dominican Republic”

This Monday, Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE) and its sister foundation in the United States, Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD), launched the workshop: “Social policies, justice and drug treatments in the Dominican Republic”. The opening of the activity, which will continue through August 5th, took place at 7:00pm in the auditorium at
FUNGLODE.

Welcome words were delivered by Asunción Sanz, GFDD´s director in Washington, who pointed out that this is the first time that authorities on different fields gather to discuss this social, sanitary and legal problem.

Next, Chair of the National Drug Council (NDC), Mabel Feliz
addressed the audience. “The Government of the Dominican Republic is honored to be the host of an event of such importance as this one, of  great significance for our country, as well as other countries in our hemisphere”, she stated.

Feliz explained that the NDC, as the entity in charge of regulating drug policies in the country, has implemented actions geared towards the reduction of demand, among which a turnkey educational program in
drug-use prevention stands out. She also expressed that the Dominican Republic continues to be a transit country, where consumption rates are low, but availability is great.

She said that according to the last survey conducted, marihuana use is around 2,3%,  and cocaine around 1,5%. This is added to a 3,6 % of the population who abuses antidepressants, mainly women.

“The nation must be accountable for the health of its citizens and
needs to take control over this disease, even though it may considered elective”, she concluded.

The next statement was at the hands of Ambassador James Mack, executive secretary for the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD).

Mack expressed that drug use has direct and indirect consequences throughout the Americas, affecting families, work environments and the safety of citizens. He stated that in recent years, justice systems
in some countries have chosen to go the route of court supervised drug rehabilitation, and that the OAS, through CICAD is working on the development and implementation of treatment policies that will serve as an alternative for drug dependent offenders.

“This method reduces consumption by 50 %, leads to an 80% reduction in criminal activity and decreases arrests by 64%. But only a fifth of addicts receive this type of treatment”, he added.

The ambassador also said he trusts that this workshop will lead to a firm commitment for the development of a pilot project of this sort, and he further stated that the OAS is a firm ally that will help take it to fruition.

“The OAS is proud to be the only international organization currently supporting this methodology in the hemisphere, thanks to the support of US and Canadian governments”, he concluded.

The act continued
with a presentation by Dr. Jaume Canela, lecturer for the Department of Public Health at Barcelona University in Spain, on the subject of organizing treatment services. Canela made reference to aspects related to the right to health as well as work methodologies and dimensions of health services.

He said that the drug problem is a complex one, as it is multidisciplinary, and covers various fields. It is a global as well as local public health concern. He made some
relevant points in reference to people’s right to health, and to the articles that make reference to said right in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as in The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

He also stated that the dimensions and management of health services are conditioned by four factors, which are the availability, acceptability, accessibility and quality of the services.

In concluding his
presentation, he brought up the example of the Plan de Acción sobre Drogas (Drugs Action Plan), Spain 2009-2012, which outlines a total of 14 objectives, 68 actions with agents involved, and assessment parameters. Participants in this plan of action include a government delegation, ministry departments, Autonomous Communities (CCAA) y Autonomous Cities, local entities, scientific organizations, companies, and unions, among other institutions. 

The last
speaker of the evening was Rogelio Flores, Judge of the Santa Maria Substance Abuse Treatment Court, Santa Barbara County Superior Court (California, United States), who spoke of his career and defined it as the most gratifying thing that has happened in his life.

He said that we all have the power to become agents for
positive change in the lives of others and made special emphasis on the fact that the light of justice will illuminate the path through the dark streets addicts and alcoholics wander on.

“Being a Judge has given me back much more than I have contributed. I have seen cases of people who have been reborn, fathers and children who have recovered their relationship. Millions of human beings need our help, prisons are filled with people that could receive treatment
without affecting society, and drug treatment courts are powerful help agents, that can save families and change lives”, he stated.

The workshop “Social policies, justice and drug treatments in the Dominican Republic” is organized with the help the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD), the Secretariat for Multidimensional Security of the Organization of American States and the National Drug Council (NDC). The workshop will
include a discussion on the feasibility of a model that is already harvesting results in other countries on this hemisphere.

On August 1 and 2, the study on the feasibility of Courts for Substance Abuse Treatments will be presented to a small group of participants and national and international experts, in the fields of both law and medicine. The objective of this workshop is to analyze the applicability of this model which, if given a green light as a pilot project,
would allow the implementation of measures that are an alternative to imprisonment under judicial supervision for drug addicts.

The model, also known as TTD, implies the leadership of a judge in a process that will serve as support to a group of district attorneys, defense lawyers, police officers, health personal and social workers, involved in the rehabilitation and reintegration of an individual in his or her community. This focus has been successfully proven in
several countries (among them Chile, United States, Canada, Jamaica, Mexico, United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, New Zealand and Australia), reducing repeat offenses and addiction relapses.

In addition, it is consistent with the new Hemispheric Drugs Strategy (2010), which states that drug addiction is a chronic and recurring disease that needs to be treated under public health policies. The OAS is promoting this initiative with financing from the Canadian and United Stated
governments, thanks to a project aimed at promoting TTDs in the Americas.