COPOLAD BITS

We address the several activities developed by COPOLAD at the beginning of 2020, highlighting the meeting in Brussels where COPOLAD has been evaluated about its contribution to the EU-CELAC Coordination and Cooperation Mechanism on Drugs.

We review the COPOLAD's recent activities in 2019, giving relevance to our new Study on Institutional Capacities for the Implementation of Alternative Development.

A review of our latest activities, the Annual Week on Observatories and the Bi-regional EU-CELAC Meeting on Money Laundering and Asset recovery, among others.

This issue includes publications of high relevance in the region such as the Report on Drug Use in the Americas 2019, launched by CICAD, together with several of the activities carried out by COPOLAD during the last few weeks. We also share the usual update of opportunities and a compilation of outstanding scientific evidence.

In this issue, we disseminate highlighted documents published by the National Drug Agencies of CELAC countries in early 2019 and share an extensive compilation of latest news in the field of health and drugs policies both at the national and international level. Headlines on #InternationalWomensDay.

At this first alert of 2019, we sum up the key activities held by COPOLAD in 2018. As always, we review and disseminate the latest news and the available evidence in the field of drugs policies, compilated recently.

The new compilation of publications and articles, among which the joint document of COPOLAD and the EMCDDA on trendspotter methodology is particularly relevant. The celebration of the 3rd COPOLAD Annual Week of Precursors in Portugal, the meeting of the working groups in quality criteria for drug demand reduction programmes in Chile, and other activities in which the programme is participating in the international field, among the activities highlighted in this issue.

In this issue, key organizations joining efforts to improve health services for problematic drug users in the CELAC countries, progress shared by COPOLAD in the field of Alternative Development at 3^rd CICAD / OAS Experts Meeting, and the presentation of our the Bank of Instruments of Evaluation in drug demand reduction at 9^th EUSPR Conference in Lisbon, among other topics.

In this issue, we collect many new publications and inputs, and news provided by countries and organisations.

In this issue, we review the participation of COPOLAD in the framework of the activities organised by the CICAD-OAS, and we also update the tools and information available in the field.

In this issue, new publications and articles, highlighting the 3rd Experts group Meeting in Early Warning Systems (EWSs)

We collect, in BITS COPOLAD, the latest drug-related evidence that is available in the international scientific community. In this issue, the most important annual publications: European Drug Report and the Drug World Report 2018 and a renewed way to search evidence through our database, along with an updated list of inputs, training and job opportunities, and also activities offered by the main supra-national entities and Drug Agencies from CELAC and EU

Highlights of this meeting which aimed to promote information exchange and best practices to identify and counteract maritime and air cocaine routes, and the most significant aspects associated with police investigation methodologies on cocaine trafficking.

The 3rd COPOLAD Intra-Regional Dialogue Forum, taking place on 27 February and 1 March 2018, in Lima, Peru, conclude the different work streams under the framework of the sub-component of Alternative Development (AD), among them, to provide opportunities to learn and exchange about recent best practices and innovations of alternative development (AD).

In this issue, among other topics, you will find resources and evidence-based tools regarding gender, young people and drugs, the Opioid crisis and Drug consumption rooms.

In this issue, special topics and resources on: Drugspolicy and criminal justice reforms: Alternatives to prison for drug-related offences,  subject to be addressed at the 1^st Bi-Regional Meeting for the Exchange of Best Practices, that will be held in Costa Rica from May 27^th  to 29^th,  2017.  We also deepen the debate over cannabis.

In this issue, we address these topics: New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) and Internet for illegal drug selling, with a view to the 2^nd COPOLAD II Annual Conference, in Buenos Aires from 16^th to 17^th May 2017.

The tools developed by COPOLAD in the field of Drug Demand Reduction and resources on prevention, take a special place in this issue, in which the celebration of the 60^th Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs of UNODC, where the European Commission celebrates a side event about COPOLAD, is of the highest relevance.

COPOLAD participates at First regional meeting on NPS in the Western Hemisphere held in Colombia and invited to participate at the dialogues for implementing UNGASS recommendations “Towards a new international drug strategy" in Mexico. On the occasion of both events, we take a look in this issue to some of the Drug National Strategies and communication actions developed by the National Drug Agencies in CELAC.

During 2016, COPOLAD welcomed new Managers at the CELAC Drug National Agencies and international partners: we present these new faces. The Ibero-American Library on Drugs and Drug Additions (BIDA) is introduced as a useful tool for sharing documental funds among countries. Also, we present the COPOLAD's Centres & Services Directory in Drug Demand Reduction, that provides information uploaded by the CELAC countries about this matter.

With BITS COPOLAD we want to launch a new frequent communication instrument that will inform on the activities carried out at COPOLAD, in addition to referencing and facilitating the identification of information and relevant news for all countries and institutions that make this programme possible. Also, this new communication and exchange instrument, open to all countries, will facilitate the reinforcement of the programme's main goals. 

We give an overview the first year of action of COPOLAD and welcome 2017 in this "#0 issue". You are all very welcome to actively participate in BITS COPOLAD.