First developed in 1998, CICAD’s Inter-American Uniform Drug Use Data System (known by its Spanish acronym, SIDUC) is a set of standardized research protocols to carry-out epidemiological studies in the following populations: secondary school students, general population, university students, treatment centers, emergency rooms, juvenile offenders, incarcerated adults, and arrestees.  

The Hemispheric Drug Strategy 2020 highlights that member states should foster scientific research and collect, organize, and analyze information that is used as a basis for the development and implementation of evidence-based drug policies and strategies. The Hemispheric Plan of Action on Drugs 2021-2025 emphasizes the importance of using standardized methodologies, being SIDUC the standard for epidemiological surveillance to monitor drug use across the general public and key populations.

CICAD’s Inter-American Observatory on Drugs (known by its Spanish acronym, OID) provides member states with guidelines on how to measure the economic impact of drug use.