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Alcohol

Marijuana
commentary
How Will Cannabis Legalization Affect Alcohol Consumption?
Beau Kilmer @BeauKilmer, Rosanna Smart @RosannaSmart
Feb 13, 2018
GreenState (San Francisco Chronicle)
How will legalization of recreational marijuana affect alcohol consumption? Will drinking go down because people substitute cannabis for alcohol? Or will drinking go up because cannabis and alcohol complement each other? These questions have important implications.
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Parenting
commentary
What Your Kids Need to Know About Marijuana, Legalized or Not
Elizabeth J. D'Amico
Sep 21, 2016
Los Angeles Times
If you are a parent, no matter how you feel about legalizing marijuana, you need to be prepared to talk about the drug with your kids.
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Alcohol
commentary
Should Some Californians Lose Their 'License to Drink'?
Beau Kilmer @BeauKilmer
Jul 6, 2016
San Diego Union-Tribune
In California, many efforts to reduce repeat drunken driving focus on the driving. What if the state targeted the 'drunk' aspect instead?
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Marijuana
commentary
If California Legalizes Marijuana, Consumption Will Likely Increase. But Is That a Bad Thing?
Beau Kilmer @BeauKilmer
May 16, 2016
Los Angeles Times
Legalizing and allowing profit-maximizing firms to produce, sell, and advertise recreational marijuana would likely increase marijuana consumption. But how would this increased consumption influence the use of other substances?
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Underage Substance Use Prevention
commentary
Making Prevention a Priority
Matthew Chinman
Mar 7, 2016
VT Digger
A bill legalizing marijuana for recreational purposes in Vermont has a strong possibility of passing. Lawmakers and communities should focus on putting in place drug prevention programs aimed at young people, considering that their marijuana use is higher in Vermont than the national average.
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Military Health and Health Care
commentary
Tools for Coping with a Military Spouse's Drinking
Karen Chan Osilla
Oct 5, 2015
SpouseBUZZ
A new research study and web program, Partners Connect, was launched in September to help military spouses concerned about a loved one's drinking.
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Alcohol
commentary
Is Concern About Powdered Alcohol Distracting from More Serious Drinking Problems?
Kimberly A. Hepner @KimberlyHepner
Aug 17, 2015
New York Daily News
Powdered alcohol is at this point a curiosity, not a threat. Americans should be more worried about the health problems caused by widespread misuse of liquid alcohol.
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Alcohol
commentary
Could You Lose Your License to Drink?
Beau Kilmer @BeauKilmer
Jun 23, 2015
CNN
Criminal justice reform requires creating demand for bold ideas about simultaneously reducing incarceration and crime. Given the prominent role alcohol plays in crime — and the strong results from South Dakota's 24/7 Sobriety program — suspending one's “license to drink” seems well worth considering.
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Underage Substance Use Prevention
commentary
What Works in Early Life to Prevent Tobacco and Alcohol Addiction?
Daniel Schweppenstedde
Apr 23, 2015
The RAND Blog
Tobacco and alcohol addiction are widespread public health risks across the European Union. Both merit tackling at a young age. Evidence-based, early interventions are available that can be applied in small-scale settings to prevent underage alcohol and tobacco abuse.
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Diet and Eating Habits
commentary
A New Year's Resolution: Target Practices That Undermine Weight Control
Deborah A. Cohen @DrDebCohen
Dec 29, 2014
Newsweek
Many will vow to lose weight in the coming year, but most will inevitably fail, not from lack of motivation or knowledge but from insuperable forces undermining their best intentions. America should resolve to address obesity where it begins: the point of purchase.
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Media Influences on Health
commentary
Dutch and UK Adolescents See More Alcohol Advertising on TV Than Adults
Eleanor Winpenny
May 23, 2014
The RAND Blog
Adolescents in the UK and the Netherlands (but not in Germany) see more alcohol adverts on television, per hour of television watched, than adults. These differences result from the different viewing times, channels watched, and the placement of adverts.
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Nutrition Policy
commentary
Let's Regulate Food Like We Do Alcohol
Deborah A. Cohen @DrDebCohen
May 19, 2014
New York Daily News
To help people avoid overeating, the kinds of policies effective in controlling alcohol consumption should be applied to food — standardizing portion sizes, limiting impulse marketing and reducing the convenience and salience of foods most closely associated with obesity and chronic diseases.
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Substance Use Harm Reduction
commentary
California's Misguided Approach
Katherine E. Watkins
Mar 17, 2014
Orange County Register
Despite the frequency with which people are convicted of multiple DUI offenses, California continues to require that all individuals with a DUI attend a 30- or 60-hour education program. However, these programs aren't that effective.
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Underage Substance Use Prevention
commentary
U.S. Needs to Improve Community-Based Drug, Alcohol Prevention
Matthew Chinman, Joie D. Acosta, Rosalie Liccardo Pacula
Jan 31, 2014
The Orange County Register
As familiar as Americans are with the problems of youth drug and alcohol abuse, we are not identifying all the potential solutions. While observers criticize overemphasis in U.S. policy on enforcement and scant resources devoted to treatment, the focus on these approaches often ignores a key piece of the puzzle: prevention.
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Health Legislation
commentary
The Conspiracy to Keep You Fat
Deborah A. Cohen @DrDebCohen
Jan 6, 2014
Los Angeles Times
Just as we needed policies to protect people from having alcohol thrust in their faces everywhere they went, we need to develop and implement policies that protect people from food cues and triggers designed to make them eat when they're not hungry and over-consume.
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Sleep
commentary
How to Sleep in Heavenly Peace This Holiday Season
Wendy M. Troxel @wendytroxel
Dec 2, 2013
The Huffington Post
The holiday season is a time when people try to do too much. And that often leads to stress and worry, which can be the enemies of a good night's sleep. Here are a few tricks to help manage the episodic bouts of insomnia that are common during the holidays.
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Controlled Substances and Illegal Drugs
blog
A New Approach to Reducing Drunk Driving and Domestic Violence
Beau Kilmer @BeauKilmer
Nov 15, 2012
Beau Kilmer, codirector of the RAND Drug Policy Research Center, discusses South Dakota's 24/7 Sobriety Project, which requires those arrested for or convicted of alcohol-related offenses to take twice-a-day breathalyzer tests or wear a continuous monitoring bracelet. Those who fail or skip their tests are immediately subject to modest sanctions—typically a day or two in jail.
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Diet and Eating Habits
commentary
New York City Is Right to Treat Soda Like 'Demon Rum'
Deborah A. Cohen @DrDebCohen, Lila Rabinovich
Sep 14, 2012
Newsday
It is time we treated food with the same respect we hold for the power of alcohol. It's time to develop and implement regulations that will help us moderate our diets and stem the obesity epidemic, write Deborah Cohen and Lila Rabinovich.
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Underage Substance Use Prevention
blog
Webcast: Getting to Outcomes in Underage Drinking Prevention
May 21, 2012
In honor of National Underage Drinking Prevention Day, there will be a live, interactive webcast today (May 21) about successful approaches and resources to prevent underage drinking. The issue of underage drinking may sometimes be overshadowed by other forms of substance use, but it remains a steady and significant problem in the United States.
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commentary
Price of Intoxication: The Case for a Minimum Price for Alcohol
Lila Rabinovich
Oct 30, 2009
RAND.org
If ever there was a scheme that might reduce excessive alcohol consumption while causing minimal social and economic disruption, a minimum price on alcohol may be it, writes Lila Rabinovich.
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