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Substance Abuse

RAND's long and diverse history of research on substance abuse includes working with community leaders and public officials to develop more effective solutions. View all Substance Abuse Documents Available Online or find general information at Reports and Bookstore.

More »Featured Research

Public Health Preparedness and Response to Chemical and Radiological Incidents — Aug. 6, 2009

One under-examined area of public health emergency preparedness concerns incidents involving the release of chemical or radiological substances, which can have serious public health consequences. This report focuses on the roles of the public health service in emergency preparedness and its response to such incidents.

Full Document

California Parolees Have a High Need for Health Services, but Accessing Services Is a Challenge — Jun. 11, 2009

Inmates released from California prisons have a high need for drug treatment, health care and mental health services, but they face barriers to accessing such aid because many return to communities where health care services are severely strained.

Full DocumentNews ReleaseResearch Brief

More »Featured Project

Project CHOICE Offers L.A. Teens Confidential Support Group on Alcohol and Substance Use — Nov. 26, 2008

Project CHOICE is a weekly confidential after-school program for Los Angeles teenagers to discuss alcohol, cigarette, and drug use, and to get information on teenage substance use, its consequences, and how to avoid it.

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View All »Related News & Commentary

October 30, 2009: Price of Intoxication: The Case for a Minimum Price for Alcohol, By Lila Rabinovich (RAND.org)

October 27, 2009: Legalizing Marijuana: Issues to Consider Before Reforming California State Law, By Rosalie Liccardo Pacula

October 19, 2009: Prime Numbers: Doped, By Beau Kilmer, Peter H. Reuter (Foreign Policy)

June 11, 2009: California Parolees Have a High Need for Health Services, but Accessing Services Is a Challenge

June 2, 2009: Rethink Washington's 'War of Ideas', By Christopher Paul (The Christian Science Monitor)

View All »Featured Reports

Just Cause or Just Because? Prosecution and Plea-Bargaining Resulting in Prison Sentences on Low-Level Drug Charges in California and Arizona Arizona and California have passed ballot initiatives that were expected to divert minor, nonviolent drug offenders from incarceration to treatment. But what are the characteristics of imprisoned low-level drug offenders? Full Document

How Goes the "War on Drugs"? An Assessment of U.S. Drug Problems and Policy Presents a concise, accessible, objective view of where the United States has been, now stands, and is going in the future in its long "war on drugs". The authors assess the success of drug policies to date and review possible reasons why they have not been more successful. Full Document