Substance Use: Alcohol, Drugs, and Tobacco
RAND Corporation research on substance use began in the mid-1970s when we conducted the first national study of the course of alcoholism after treatment. Today RAND researchers are tackling an extensive and diverse set of issues, from how best to prevent youth from using drugs, alcohol, and tobacco to understanding substance use when it is complicated by co-occurring disorders. An overview of our current work is provided here.
Profiles of Current Research
Highlights of Recent Studies
Better Understanding Efforts to Reduce the Supply of Illicit Drugs
This analysis to better understand illegal drug markets and supply-reduction efforts in the European Union identified three key insights: It is criti- cal to collect data on purity-adjusted prices; there are multiple options for collecting this information; and member states can learn more about supply reduction by changing how they report seizure data.
Assessing Parolees’ Health Care Needs and Potential Access to Health Care Services in California
California parolees’ health care, mental health care, and drug- and alcohol-treatment needs, as well as where parolees go when they return to counties, place significant demands on counties’ safety-net resources and on their ability to meet those needs.
The Costs of Methamphetamine Use: A National Estimate
The estimated economic cost of methamphetamine use reached more than $23.4 billion in 2005—but the true economic burden is somewhere between $16.2 billion and $48.3 billion. Most of the expense results from the intangible burden that addiction places on dependent users and their premature mortality and from crime and criminal justice costs.
Teens Who Work Are More Likely to Smoke
A strong link exists between working and smoking among 10th-grade teens.
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Issues Among People with HIV: Lessons from HCSUS
New findings from the HIV Costs and Services Utilization Study (HCSUS) shed light on the prevalence of mental health and substance abuse problems for persons with HIV, access to appropriate care, and ability to adhere to treatment.
New Perspectives on Marijuana and Youth: Abstainers Are Not Maladjusted, but Lone Users Face Difficulties
Although some consider experimenting with marijuana normal behavior for adolescents, those adolescents who abstain are not maladjusted, as others have reported.
Using Outcomes to Assess Teen Substance—Use Treatment Programs—How Feasible?
Using outcome data to assess adolescent substance abuse treatment program performance may be problematic; a more promising approach may be to identify quality-of-care indicators for assessing performance.
Related Websites
Working with Congress
RAND’s Office of Congressional Relations (OCR) furthers RAND’s mission to provide objective analysis and effective solutions by disseminating research results to Congress and federal agencies. OCR publishes a monthly electronic newsletter featuring current work on health policy. The RAND Health Congressional Newsletter is found at www.rand.org/congress/newsletters.html. Contact: Winfield Boerckel (winfield_boerckel@rand.org).
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