Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD)

CICAD Publications

 

Latest Publications

Information Empowered

CICAD works with its member states, international organizations, partners, universities and experts to publish resources and studies that can bring together relevant, timely information and analysis in dealing with the global drug problem. Preferentially, CICAD publishes in electronic formats.

Evaluation Report on Drug Control (2014) for the Sixth Evaluation Round of the Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism (MEM)

The Evaluation Report on Drug Control (2014) for the Sixth Evaluation Round of the Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism (MEM) measures the progress of actions taken by the 34 OAS member states to address the drug problem and other related offenses. The Sixth Round focused on a set of 27 standard recommendations derived from the Plan of Action, 2011-2015, of the 2010 CICAD Hemispheric Drug Strategy. The recommendations cover five key areas of drug control, which include institutional strengthening, demand reduction, supply reduction, control measures, and international cooperation. The Evaluation Reports were approved at the CICAD-56 regular session in Guatemala, November 2014. The MEM helps identify the strengths and weaknesses in countries and encourages national dialogue and awareness among stakeholders of the drug problem and national drug control policy. The Mechanism is considered "the only valid hemispheric tool for evaluating drug control policies in the countries that make up the inter-American system." (Declaration of Antigua Guatemala, 43rd regular session of the OAS General Assembly, 2013).

Drug Treatment Courts: An International Response to Drug Dependent Offenders

This publication has been prepared as a follow"up to "Establishing Drug Treatment Courts: Strategies, Experiences and Preliminary Outcomes," prepared by the Organization of the American States (OAS) and American University in 2010 to provide an overview of Drug Treatment Court (TDC) activity in countries where these programs were being planned and/or implemented. The 2010 publication provided a snapshot of the planning issues, operational characteristics, and implementation experience of 20+ programs (in addition to those in the U.S.) that had been implemented in 14 countries along with various programmatic and policy issues that were being addressed in varying degrees. The present publication is designed to address in greater depth these major policy and implementation issues that these 20+ Drug Treatment Courts were addressing and programs will need to continue to address as DTCs mature and evolve.

Exploring the Relationship between Drugs and Crime: A Comparative Analysis of Survey Data from Prisoners in Four Caribbean Countries

Focusing on the prison populations of Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the OID investigates the prevalence of psychoactive substance use among the adult prison population and the link between criminal behavior and the use of psychoactive substances as perceived by the offenders, especially the early initiation of use of marijuana and alcohol. Online version (PDF, 8.5 mb, 235 pages, 78 tables, 67 figures.).

Report on Drug Use in the Americas, 2011

The first analysis of drug trends in OAS member states, covering the period of 2002-2009,  it deals with trends of five groups of substances: alcohol, marijuana, inhalants, cocaine and related products, and non-medical use of pharmaceutical drugs.  Finally, there is an analysis of the perceived risk associated with drug consumption and the ease of access to drugs. More information from the Inter-American Drug Observatory. Online version (841 kb, PDF, 103 pages). It contains 20 tables and 24 figures, as well as appendices with another 24 tables.

Asset Management Systems in Latin America and Best Practices Document on Management of Seized and Forfeited Assets

The publication is designed as a practical tool for setting up and running asset management systems that use seizures as a primary weapon in the arsenal of measures against organized crime. An initial section by Professor Isidoro Blanco examines jurisprudence in Latin America, Europe and elsewhere to develop a comprehensive analysis of assets management systems and their role in investigating and locating assets, managing seized assets and enforcing judgments. A second section is a reference guide on creating and developing these systems, which cooperate with investigative police, financial intelligence units, prosecutors, judges and other law enforcement agencies, with the goal of improving structures and processes to promote efficiency, transparency and accountability. Bilingual Edition - Spanish and English, 175 pages, PDF, 23.7 mb. More information.

Hemispheric Report of the Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism (MEM) "“ Fifth Evaluation Round

The Hemispheric Report: Evaluating Progress in Drug Control - Fifth Evaluation Round of the Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism (MEM) addresses the collective progress of the CICAD member states in confronting the global drug problem from a hemispheric perspective, in the following areas: Institutional Strengthening (National Anti-drug Plans; International Conventions; National Information Systems), Demand Reduction (Prevention; Treatment; Statistics on Consumption), Supply Reduction (Drug Production; Alternative, Integral and Sustainable Development; Pharmaceutical Products; Chemical Substances) and Control Measures (Illicit Drug Trafficking; Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives and other Related Materials; Money Laundering; Judicial Cooperation). In addition, it provides an analysis of the recommendations assigned to the member states, identifying areas that the MEM believes require further attention, in order to strengthen national anti-drug policies. It covers the period of 2007-2009. The content of the Hemispheric Report was approved at the forty-ninth regular session of CICAD, in May 2011.  Washington, DC, 2011, 53 pages, 24 tables, 16 graphics.  Online version (PDF, 3.6 mb, high resolution) (PDF, 831 kb, web optimized).  For more details, see the MEM section.

Reference Guides

Building a national drugs observatory: a joint handbook

The European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and CICAD published jointly a reference guide entitled Building a National Drugs Observatory: a joint handbook. The publication is based on experience over the last two decades gained by the EMCDDA in setting up national focal points or the Reitox network in Europe and by CICAD's Inter-American Drug Observatory (OID) in advising national drug observatories in its member states. Lisbon, 2010,  114 pages.  The handbook is available in online (PDF, 899 kb) and in eight languages. A print copy is available by ordering through EMCDDA. More information in OID. 

How to Develop a National Drug Policy

Jointly with the CARICOM Secretariat, CICAD drafted guidelines for developing, implementing and evaluating national drug control plans, strategies and programs, working closely with national drug commissions in the region. The final product was published as a standardized reference guide, How to Develop a National Drug Control Policy: A Guide for Policymakers, Practitioners, and Stakeholders. However, although originally aimed at Caribbean countries, the material can be used in other regions with minimal adaptation. Washington, DC, 2009, 67 pages, 9 figures, bibliographic references, online version  (PDF 1.4 mb).  More information in the Institutional Strengthening section.


CICAD Hemispheric Guidelines on School-based Prevention

As developed by CICAD's Expert Group on Demand Reduction and approved by the Commission in 2004, these guidelines speak to strategies to conduct research, create educational materials, train teachers, and carry out and evaluate prevention programs at the national level in a way that is responsive to regional, state, and local needs expressed within each school. Drug use problems threaten personal health, disrupt family integration, propagate delinquency and violence, and endanger a child's healthy social development. Washington, DC, 2005, 29 pp, online (PDF, 1.1 mb). More information in Demand Reduction.


Integrated Solutions

Establishing Drug Treatment Courts: Strategies, Experiences and Preliminary Outcomes

Under the EU-LAC Drug Treatment City Partnerships project, two volumes were prepared by CICAD; the Justice Programs Office, School of Public Affairs, American University; the Institute for International Research on Criminal Policy (IRCP), Universiteit Gent (Belgium); the Ministerio Público of Chile (General Prosecutor's Office); and the International Association of Drug Treatment Courts (IADTC). Washington, DC, 2010, Volume one (PDF, 950 kb), 152 pp  and Volume two (PDF, 7.55 mb), 571 pp. More information in the EU-LAC project.


Status of Drug Treatment at the Local Level (cities) Information from 19 cities from Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean

This publication was drafted under the EU-LAC Drug Treatment City Partnerships project. About cities from both sides of the Atlantic undertook an assessment of the status of drug treatment at the local level, with special attention to the description of care needs arising from drug use, and the available supply of services. Washington, DC, 2010, 267 pp, online version (PDF, 2.07 mb). More information in the EU-LAC project.


Drug Trend Research

Comparative Analysis of Student Drug Use in Caribbean Countries

A Report on Student Drug Use in 12 Caribbean Countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname. This report is the synthesis of separate but similar studies that were implemented in 12 countries between 2005 and 2007, using one of the protocols of CICAD's Inter-American Drug Use Data System (SIDUC). The protocol outlines the methodology for implementing drug prevalence surveys among secondary school students. This work looks comparatively at drug use among groups of countries or the Caribbean region as a whole. Washington, DC, 2010, 88 pages, 43 tables, 37 figures. Online version (PDF, 1.8 mb). More information in OID.


New trends in drug consumption among youth in six countries - 2009-2010

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the OID and the national drug commissions of the six participating countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Uruguay), presented the second joint study of secondary students: "Information for the design of national and regional strategies on drug control for youth" (Información para el diseño de las estrategias nacionales y regionales sobre la problemática de drogas en jóvenes). The study (PDF, 3.4 mb, 90 pages) is only available in Spanish. More information in OID.


Comparative Study on Drug Use in the General Population in 6 South American Countries - 2008

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), CICAD through the Inter-American Observatory on Drugs (OID), and the national drug commissions of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Uruguay prepared a 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.). 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). More information in OID.


Study on Drug Use among Secondary School Students in South America - 2006

The Inter-American Observatory on Drugs (OID), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and nine national drug commissions (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay) 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). 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), 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 stimulants without medical prescription, and inhalants. 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 available. More information in OID.


Exploratory Study on Drugs and Violence in an Intentional Sample of Women in Twelve Countries of the Americas

The research project enlisted 22 universities (19 in Latin America and 3 in the United States) in 12 countries. The publication contains information from surveys in Argentina (Rosario and Córdoba), Bolivia (La Paz), Brazil (Rio de Janeiro, Florianópolis, Ribeirão Preto, and Santo André), Chile (Concepción), Colombia (Bogotá), Costa Rica (San José), Ecuador (Guayaquil), Honduras (Tegucigalpa), México (Monterrey, Celaya and Querétaro), Peru (Lima), United States (Miami-Date and Broward), and Venezuela (Valencia).  (PDF, 1.11 mb, pp. 175, 2009)


Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism

CICAD publishes country reports and a report on the hemispheric of the impact of the global drug problem and the region's response. See the MEM section for the pertinent publications.


updated on 12/18/2014 3:13:22 PM