White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Director R. Gil Kerlikowske hosted a Russian delegation in Chicago, Illinois, for the fifth meeting of the BPC Counternarcotics Working Group. Viktor Ivanov, Director of the Federal Drug Control Service (FSKN), led the Russian delegation, which included several Russian senior staff members. U.S. participants included Administrator Michele Leonhart of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs William Brownfield, Raisa Sheynberg from the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence of the Department of the Treasury, and Robert Lubran from the Department of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
On November 16, the co-chairs and attendees received updates covering the Working Group’s activities in the areas of illicit finance, law enforcement cooperation, and demand reduction since the last plenary session in March 2011 in Moscow as well as an update on the Central Asia Counternarcotics Initiative (CACI). Afterward, participants attended a presentation on the Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) program at John Stroger Hospital in the Chicago Medical District. The following day included presentations focused on a family-based drug treatment program at the Haymarket Center and a law enforcement meeting at the DEA Chicago Field Division. An emphasis on prevention was maintained throughout both days’ events. Click here to read the co-chairmen’s joint statement.
