EMCDDA Director Alexis Goosdeel is at the Vatican City today where he will speak at a two-day workshop entitled ‘Narcotics: problems and solutions of this global issue’. The event is organised by the Pontifical Academies of Sciences (PAS), following a special wish of Pope Francis. Mr Goosdeel will be speaking on ‘The European drugs market and the growing role of the internet: socio-economic and socio-cultural perspectives’.
Leading professionals, scientists, experts, medical doctors, researchers, practitioners, members of civil society, judges and academics are invited by the PAS to examine and discuss possible innovative socio-political solutions to drug-related issues.
The workshop will focus on the scientific aspects of the drug phenomenon, such as the consequences of substance use on the body and brain, and the potential medical uses of certain drugs for specific diseases and disorders. Other aspects to be discussed include the: illicit production of drugs; strategies to fight the conditions fostering drug use; exploitation of young children in criminal organisations that distribute narcotics; and the effects of drug legalisation on our society.
