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Opioids

Substance Use Harm Reduction
commentary
Tackle Fentanyl like a Poisoning Outbreak, Not a Drug Epidemic
Bryce Pardo @brycepardo, Jonathan P. Caulkins, Beau Kilmer @BeauKilmer
Sep 3, 2019
Los Angeles Times
America's fentanyl problem is far deadlier than past crises with other illegal drugs. New ideas, be they public policies, technologies or law enforcement strategies, are desperately needed. Continuing to treat fentanyl just like previous drug epidemics will likely be insufficient and may condemn thousands more to early deaths.
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United States
blog
RAND's Summer Reading List for Congress
Aug 5, 2019
For busy staff, August's respite from back-to-back meetings, hearing preparation, and late votes is hard-earned. The summer recess also provides an opportunity to get ahead of issues that will resurface in the fall. To that end, we have compiled recent RAND research on topics likely to top the congressional agenda come September.
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Drug Markets and Supply
commentary
China's Ban on Fentanyl Drugs Won't Likely Stem America's Opioid Crisis
Bryce Pardo @brycepardo, Beau Kilmer @BeauKilmer
May 22, 2019
Los Angeles Times
Given China's recent decision to ban the unauthorized manufacture of fentanyl, authorities there appear to recognize a growing problem. But China cannot solve the U.S. opioid problem. The United States could do more to reduce demand for opioids as well as drug users' exposure to these powerful drugs.
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Opioids
blog
A Holistic Approach to Solving the Opioid Crisis
Apr 15, 2019
While federal, state and, local governments deploy strategies to tackle the opioid crisis, the problem continues to proliferate. RAND researchers suggest that these strategies fail to solve the larger problem because they've largely been developed in silos. The opioid crisis is an ecosystem, and mitigating the problem will require a holistic approach.
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Opioids
commentary
(Grey's) Anatomy of an Opioid Crisis
Sarah MacCarthy, Bradley D. Stein @BradleyDStein
Apr 8, 2019
Scientific American
More than 130 Americans die every day after overdosing on opioids. So when one of the most popular shows on TV made opioid misuse a major plotline, RAND experts paid attention to how it presented this public health crisis. The show mirrored reality pretty closely, for the narrow slice of the opioid crisis it addressed.
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Substance Use Harm Reduction
commentary
Addressing Federal Conflicts Over Supervised Drug Consumption Sites
Beau Kilmer @BeauKilmer, Bryce Pardo @brycepardo
Mar 14, 2019
The Hill
With drug overdose deaths mounting, some American cities are trying to create designated spaces where people who use heroin and other drugs can have their consumption supervised by medical professionals. The Department of Justice argues these sites would violate federal law, but federal decisionmakers have several options.
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Opioids
commentary
Opioid-Dependent Newborns in My West Virginia Hometown Point to a Path Out of Drug Crisis
Stephen W. Patrick
Mar 6, 2019
USA Today
In small, rural towns like Bluefield, West Virginia, economies are hurting, the opioid epidemic is growing, and together they are taking a toll on a surprising population: pregnant women and their babies.
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commentary
Opioids and a Crisis of Unintended Consequences
David Powell
Feb 20, 2019
The Hill
The pain medicine OxyContin was reformulated in 2010 to make it more difficult to crush or dissolve. But this had unintended consequences, including a rise in hepatitis C infections as drug abusers switched from taking OxyContin to injecting heroin.
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Substance Abuse Treatment
commentary
In Opioid Policy, One Size Does Not Fit All
Bradley D. Stein @BradleyDStein
Oct 12, 2018
The Hill
To solve America's opioid crisis, policymakers will need to view the epidemic as an "ecosystem," where policies that target only one part of the problem can have unintended consequences.
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United States
blog
Trump's First State of the Union: Insights from RAND
Jan 31, 2018
RAND research, analysis, and expertise provide context for the issues discussed in the president's first State of the Union address, including infrastructure, North Korea, and opioids.
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United States
blog
RAND's Summer Reading List for Congress
Aug 4, 2017
Hill staffers can make the most of the Congressional recess with this list of must-read research and commentary on the policy issues they will be addressing this fall.
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Opioids
blog
Conversations at RAND: A Sobering Look at the Opioid Epidemic
May 13, 2016
Opioid overdoses were the greatest cause of accidental death in America in 2014. A panel discussion at RAND addressed the epidemic, including societal attitudes toward pain and addiction, poor understanding of the mechanics of addiction itself, economic drivers, legal responses, and treatment approaches.
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Substance Abuse
essay
Opioid Rising: How to Stop the World's Growing Heroin Crisis
Oct 20, 2015
RAND research offers strategies to save thousands of lives around the world from opioids, such as heroin and prescription painkillers.
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