Officials linked to the SUMAR plan are trained in a workshop on “Challenges of synthetic drugs”

Inter-institutional representatives participated in a workshop on synthetic drugs. Photo courtesy.-

Asuncion, IP Agency.- Representatives from various government institutions linked to the SUMAR Plan participated in the workshop on “Strategic and Comprehensive Approaches to Address the Challenges Posed by Synthetic Drugs and New Psychoactive Substances, including Synthetic Opioids.”

The workshop took place from July 17 to 19 at the Central Bank of Paraguay and is part of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Synthetic Drugs Project for the Andean Region and the Southern Cone (DROSINSUR).

The intensive training of highly qualified officials on the subject is part of the joint work between the Action Plan against Drug Abuse “SUMAR” and DROSINSUR, whose launch took place last Tuesday 16, with the presence of the President of the Republic, Santiago Peña, the representative of UNODC for the Andean Region and the Southern Cone, Candice Welsch and national and international authorities.

Topics addressed included: the International Control System for Narcotic Drugs, Psychoactive Substances and New Psychoactive Substances, and the illegal markets for synthetic opioids from the perspective of criminal analysis.

Also, the challenges of clandestine synthetic drug laboratories, basic biosecurity measures and procedures against synthetic drugs and new psychoactive substances, good practices in customs controls, the importance of forensic laboratories, the Early Warning System (SAT) and legislative alternatives for drug regulation in our region.

The event will be attended by international experts from Argentina and Chile, as well as speakers from our country.

Synthetic drugs and psychoactive substances pose changing challenges

The workshop is part of a joint effort within the framework of the SUMAR and DROSINSUR plan. Photo courtesy.-

The SUMAR Plan establishes a strategic approach and is structured around three lines of action: prevention of drug use, treatment and rehabilitation of users for social reintegration and combating drug trafficking.

Synthetic drugs and new psychoactive substances pose evolving challenges for law enforcement agencies, criminal justice, prevention and treatment actors, health systems and decision makers.

UNODC’s experience and presence throughout the Andean region and the Southern Cone will strengthen Paraguay’s efforts to implement tools aimed at responding to the challenges posed by illegal drug markets in the country.

The UNODC Programme against Synthetic Drugs in the Southern Cone is supported by the United States Government’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). It seeks to strengthen strategic and comprehensive approaches to counter illicit drug markets by enhancing institutional responses to the challenges posed by synthetic drugs and new psychoactive substances.