Summary of the Side Event on “Addressing the Health and Security Threats of Synthetic Drugs Through Global Cooperation”

On September 18, 2023, on the margins of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, the United States convened current and prospective members of the Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drug Threats and interested international organization, private sector, and civil society partners.  Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Ghada Waly moderated a panel comprised of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson, Brazilian National Secretary for Drug Policy Marta Machado, and Meta President of Global Affairs Sir Nick Clegg.

Panelists discussed national, regional, international, and multi-stakeholder responses to the shared global health and security threats posed by synthetic drugs, in line with the Coalition’s three primary areas of focus:

1) Prevent the illicit manufacture and trafficking of synthetic drugs;

2) Detect emerging drug threats and use patterns; and

3) Promote public health interventions and services to prevent and reduce drug use, overdose, and other related harms.

Further efforts will be carried forward in the Coalition’s three working groups dedicated to these primary focus areas.  Working groups and sub-working groups will convene over the next year to make progress and identify opportunities for further action in seven focus areas:

1) Manufacturing of synthetic drugs and their precursors;

2) Trafficking of synthetic drugs and their precursors

3) Data collection, analysis, and trends including early warning;

4) Information sharing, interagency collaboration, and policy

formulation;

5) Preventing drug use;

6) Engaging people with substance use and substance use

disorders; and

7) Addressing populations in contact with the criminal justice system, including alternatives to incarceration.

Through these groups, countries will advance tangible public health and security solutions at the national, regional, and international levels.

Coalition members and other interested parties will convene again on the margins of the 67th UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) in March 2024, given the CND’s leading role within the UN system for international drug-related matters.  The CND will remain the driving force in coordinating sustained global action to address these shared public health and security challenges.