Inter-American Observatory on Drugs (OID)

The OID's mission is to build a drug information network with
and for the Americas to provide objective, reliable, up-to-date
and comparative information.

Program Initiatives

The Inter-American Observatory on Drugs (OID) is CICAD’s statistical, information and scientific research branch.  Informed by a sound, evidence-based picture of the drug problem, both nationally and at the hemispheric level, member states can better understand all the dimensions of the drug problem, and design and implement policies and programs to address them.  The Observatory helps countries to improve the collection and analysis of drug-related data: by promoting the establishment of national observatories and the use of standardized methods and data; and by providing scientific and technical training for, and the exchange of experiences among, professionals working on drug issues.

Drug Statistics Profiles by Country: A new tool that draws on multiple sources to provide data on social and population factors, drug demand, and drug supply and drug control of the 34 member states.

Costs Program: to estimate the Human, Social, and Economic Costs of Drugs in the Americas

Latin American Epidemiology Work Group (Red Latinoamericana de Investigadores en Drogas - REDLA) 

Statistics: SIDUC (Inter-American Uniform Drug Use Data System), CICDAT (Uniform Drug Supply Control Statistical System) and other studies

Drug Observatories in the Americas

About the OID: mission, vision and services

Contact Information

News

CICAD Observer Special Issue: Tracking Current Trends in Drug Use in the Hemisphere.

• Inhalant abuse looms as a major threat for South America
• REDLA Network Identifies Worrisome Trends in Drug Use across Latin America
• Community-Based Surveillance of Drug Use Provides Adds Valuable Perspectives on Trends 

IV Ibero-American Meeting of National Drug Observatories, October 20-24, 2008
Antigua, Guatemala - with the support of the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AECID).

CICAD/NIDA Competitive Research Award Fund: Program to Support Drug Epidemiology in Member States - Please check back soon for the 2008 call for proposals.
More information including the first studies by our grantees.  

Second Meeting of Caribbean Observatories On Drugs: From Research to Policy to Practice
St. George’s, Grenada, September 10-14. Presentations and photos at the meeting. Final Report of the three days focused on statistics and policy.

Publications

New Study on Drug Use in the General Population in 6 South American Countries

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) through the Inter-American Observatory on Drugs (OID), in partnership with the national drug commissions of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Uruguay, present the findings report on the study "Guidelines for Public Policies on Drugs in the Subregion: First Comparative Study on Drug Consumption and Associated Factors among the General Population (15-64 Years Old)." (ELEMENTOS ORIENTADORES PARA LAS POLÍTICAS PÚBLICAS SOBRE DROGAS EN LA SUBREGIÓN: primer estudio comparativo sobre consumo de drogas y factores asociados en población de 15 a 64 años.). More information in the special issue of the CICAD Observer.

The study is only available in Spanish (PDF, 94 pp, 2.33 Mb). An executive summary is available in English (PDF, 6 pp, 66 kb) now.

Study on Drug Use among Secondary School Students in South America

The Inter-American Observatory on Drugs (OID) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC - Peru Office) have just published the study Youth and Drugs in South American Countries: A Challenge for Public Policies (Jóvenes y drogas en países sudamericanos: un desafío para las políticas públicas). The publication arises out of a research project entitled A Comparative Study of Drug Consumption in the Secondary School Student Population in Nine South American Countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.

This study is the first of its kind, using comparable methodologies from the start. It is based on a sampling of 350,000 students (ages 14-17) in the nine countries, representing a total population of 9.5 million. The report deals with the problem of alcohol and tobacco, as well as the use of tranquilizers and stimulates without medical prescription. Special emphasis is placed on the consumption of illegal drugs and inhalants. Additionally, it evaluates the risk that young people perceive about drug use, the role of the family and other aspects that affect the use of these substances.

The report is currently available only in Spanish (112 pp., Adobe Acrobat PDF, 3,2 Mb). An executive summary in English (27 pp., Adobe Acrobat PDF, 150 kb) is now available.

Partner Publications

Results of Chile's 7th National Study on Drugs Use in General Population (Available in Spanish only)

UNODC 2008 Annual Report / World Drug Reports  1997-2007

The Second Ibero-American Encournter of Drug Observatories
in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia in October 2004.