Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - Mexican Health Secretary, Salomón Chertoriviski, reported Monday that the Mexican government has patented the first-ever heroin vaccine as part of its fight against drug addiction.

Speaking at an Addiction Technology Transfer Network (ATTN) presentation, he emphasized cooperation between the United States and Mexico in the context of the Mérida Initiative.

"Mexico has patented the first vaccine against heroin use, and we’re not going to stop there," he said. Presentation attendees included Wendy Sherman, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs of the United States, President of the Citizen Advisory Council for the Family Development Agency (DIF), Margarita Zavala, and the Mayor of Mexico City, Marcelo Ebrard.

Salomón Chertoriviski explained that the United States government and Mexican agencies are working together in community environments to create health networks and associations in the border cities of Nogales and Agua Prieta, Sonora.

These social participation models were then recreated in key cities such as Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, and Tijuana, Baja California.

He recognized the social benefits of alternative justice and treatment programs, which allow jail time to be replaced with treatment for first-time misdemeanor offenses committed while under the influence.

The U.S. "Drug Courts" program, he said, is bearing its first fruit in Mexico. The US State Department and the National Association of Drug Courts of the US collaborated on the creation of a pilot program in Nuevo León.

"It is satisfying and galvanizing to know that ... resources from the Mérida Initiative have been earmarked for these programs."