Seventh Meeting of the North American Drug Dialogue

The following joint statement was released by the Governments of Canada, Mexico and the United States.

Senior officials from Canada, Mexico and the United States met on November 7 and 8, 2023, at U.S. Postal Service Headquarters in Washington, D.C., for the 7th North American Drug Dialogue (NADD). The NADD is the principal mechanism through which the three countries address current and emerging drug threats. It was formed during the North American Leaders’ Summit (NALS) in 2016. This year, representatives from the Netherlands participated in the 7^th NADD at the invitation of senior officials to discuss shared challenges and innovative approaches to address synthetic drug threats.

At the November 2023 meeting, representatives from the three countries reviewed progress since the 6^th NADD meeting in November 2022, focusing on trends in drug trafficking including synthetic drugs like fentanyl, precursors, illicit finance, and public health harms associated with illegal drug use and overdoses. Officials discussed opportunities and challenges in the accessibility of overdose reversal medications as a tool in the comprehensive response to the opioid overdose epidemic in North America, building upon the trilateral approach coordinated at the June 2023 NADD Public Health Summit. Representatives from the Government of the Netherlands shared insights and perspectives from their efforts to address organized crime and drug trafficking, and enhance marine port security.

The North American countries agreed to a path forward for the NADD that expands collaboration and continues work on established strategic objectives. This fulfills a commitment made by the leaders of Canada, Mexico, and the United States at the January 2023 NALS to support strengthened cooperation to address drug trafficking and strengthen public health approaches to substance use in North America.

In 2024, Canada, Mexico, and the United States will continue to enhance our cooperation to:

• Promote a comprehensive strategy to address overdoses;
• Strengthen substance use prevention strategies from a mental health approach, addressing the problem from its causes to reduce risk factors;
• Share best practices to help reduce harms to people who use drugs by reducing structural stigma in our health systems, law, and social services;
• Share data on trends in drug use and trafficking to include emerging threats;
• Deepen our counternarcotics partnership with the Netherlands and explore parallel opportunities with other countries;
• Improve shared understanding of drug trafficking supply chains and smuggling modes, including in the postal system;
• Better understand illegal drug-related financing methods associated with fentanyl and other drug trafficking, and strengthen cooperation to address these activities;
• Share information related to the process to control chemicals of concern in each country, including best practices to address the proliferation of novel psychoactive substances and new precursor chemicals; and
• Share information trilaterally on current illicit firearms trafficking trends to better understand and address the enabling effect of illicit firearms in the furtherance of illegal drug trafficking. 

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