This week, a delegation from the newly established European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) visited Washington DC for a series of high-level meetings with US partners. Led by EUDA Executive Director Alexis Goosdeel, the delegation aimed to present the agency's new mandate and discuss potential areas of cooperation within its new responsibilities. This was the first EUDA visit to the US and took place just one week after the official inauguration of the agency in Lisbon. Following a meeting at the EU Delegation to the United States, the visiting EUDA staff members met with the following entities:
- Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission of the Organization of American States (CICAD-OAS) — Meeting with Executive Secretary, Ambassador Adam Namm. Purpose: Briefing on the EUDA mandate and ongoing cooperation.
- Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) — Meeting with George S. Papadopoulos, Principal Deputy Administrator. Purpose: Briefing on the EUDA mandate; discussions on cooperation in the strategic analysis of drug markets; collaboration between the DEA laboratories and the European Network of Toxicology and Forensic Laboratories; strengthening the exchange of scientific data and early warnings on new psychoactive substances (NPS).
- White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) — Meeting with Dr Rahul Gupta, Director of National Drug Control Policy. Purpose: Briefing on the EUDA mandate, presentation of the ONDCP strategy; discussions on wastewater analysis.
- International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) — Meeting with Deputy Assistant Secretary, Maggie Nardi. Purpose: Briefing on the EUDA mandate, discussion on collaborative efforts on the Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drug Threats; and coordination on policies, strategies and efforts to address synthetic drug threats.
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) — Purpose: Briefing on the EUDA mandate and discussion on future opportunities for collaboration. An overview was given on the SAMHSA approach to improving the monitoring of trends in drug-related deaths in the US and an exchange of views was held on recent developments in synthetic opioid use in US and EU.
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) — Meeting with NIDA Director, Nora Volkow. Purpose: Briefing on the EUDA mandate and ongoing cooperation.
- John Hopkins University (JHU) — Purpose: Briefing on the EUDA mandate; exchange of views on the topic of psychedelics and use of psychedelics for medical purposes.
