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Drug Policy and Trends

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RAND researchers provide objective analyses of problems and policies related to illegal drugs—including nonmedical use of prescription drugs, marijuana legalization or decriminalization, racial disparities in drug-related incarceration rates, community prevention efforts, and strategies for reducing drug-related violence in Mexico and Central America.

Report
America's Opioid Ecosystem
Patterns and consequences of opioid use are changing dramatically. Researchers provide a nuanced assessment of America's opioid ecosystem, highlighting how leveraging system interactions can reduce addiction, overdose, suffering, and other harms.
Mar 16, 2023
News Release
Frequent Alcohol Testing Combined with Swift and Certain Sanctions Is Associated with Lower Death Rates
A statewide alcohol-monitoring program that requires people arrested for drunk driving and other alcohol-involved offenses to be tested frequently for alcohol use can reduce the likelihood that participants die for several years after their involvement with the program.
Feb 28, 2023

Explore Drug Policy and Trends

Journal Article
Association of Selected State Policies and Requirements for Buprenorphine Treatment With Per Capita Months of Treatment
State-mandated educational requirements beyond the initial training required to prescribe buprenorphine were associated with increased buprenorphine use over time.
Jun 8, 2023
Report
Onderzoek Experiment Gesloten Coffeeshopketen: Rapportage voormeting 2021: [Study in support of the Controlled Cannabis Supply Chain Experiment: Pre-measurement report 2021]
The document reports on cannabis consumption, the sale of cannabis from tolerated dispensaries (coffeeshops) and the illegal sale of hash and weed in the Netherlands prior to the introduction of an experiment with a legal cannabis supply chain.
May 31, 2023
News Release
State Policies Requiring Education for Buprenorphine Prescribers Boosts Use of Opioid Use Disorder Treatment
States that want to increase access to buprenorphine, a lifesaving medication used to treat opioid use disorder, should consider efforts to enhance professional education and clinician knowledge.
May 26, 2023
Blog
Immigration Policy, the Black-White Wealth Gap, ChatGPT: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the challenges facing U.S. immigration policy, what it would take to close America's Black-white wealth gap, risks and opportunities associated with artificial intelligence, more.
May 26, 2023
Journal Article
Disparities in Postoperative Opioid Prescribing by Race and Ethnicity: An Electronic Health Records-Based Observational Study from Northern California, 2015-2020
To examine racial and ethnic disparities in postoperative opioid prescribing.
May 24, 2023
News Release
Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder Rises After Medicare Expands Coverage for Methadone
The use of methadone among Medicare beneficiaries to treat opioid use disorder increased sharply after the program began covering the drug, with evidence suggesting the change created new treatment rather than displacing use of other medications.
May 19, 2023
Blog
RAND Turns 75: A Look Through the Decades At World-Changing Research
From anticipating the Space Age in the 1940s to studying gun policy and COVID-19 responses in the 2020s, RAND is celebrating 75 years of research that has made a difference.
May 8, 2023
Journal Article
Buprenorphine Treatment Episodes During the First Year of COVID: A Retrospective Examination of Treatment Initiation and Retention
Buprenorphine treatment remained stable during the pandemic, however the flow of individuals receiving treatment changed significantly, indicating that policy efforts were successful in maintaining existing patients, but did not extend to new patients.
May 2, 2023
Journal Article
A Randomized Trial of Letters to Encourage Prescription Monitoring Program Use and Safe Opioid Prescribing
Researchers conducted a randomized trial to assess whether letters to clinicians increased use of the state prescription monitoring programs (PMP) and decreased risky coprescribing of opioids with benzodiazepines or gabapentinoids.
Apr 20, 2023
Journal Article
Association Between Hospital Adoption of an Emergency Department Treatment Pathway for Opioid Use Disorder and Patient Initiation of Buprenorphine After Discharge
Researchers evaluated the association between hospitals attesting to an emergency department buprenorphine treatment Opioid Hospital Quality Improvement Program (O-HQIP) pathway and patients' subsequent initiation of buprenorphine treatment.
Apr 20, 2023
Blog
Violence in Schools, Neurodiversity and National Security, Drug Cartels: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on preventing school violence, dealing with drug cartels, the benefits of a neurodivergent national security workforce, and more.
Mar 31, 2023
Project
Opioids Uncharted: Mapping America's Opioid Crisis
A RAND initiative to map the underexplored consequences of America's opioid crisis—and discover big-picture solutions.
Mar 21, 2023
Blog
Opioids in America, Silicon Valley Bank, Semiconductors: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on addressing America's illicit opioids problem, Silicon Valley Bank’s demise, Taiwan’s semiconductor dominance, and more.
Mar 17, 2023
News Release
U.S. Opioid Crisis Best Viewed as Connected Ecosystem; Changing Policymakers' Approach Can Aid Solutions
The nation's opioid crisis, which kills thousands of Americans annually, is best viewed as an ecosystem where all parts of the vexing problem are interconnected, underscoring the need for holistic solutions that address the broad needs of those with substance use disorders, their families, and the communities where they live.
Mar 16, 2023
Article
Illegal Opioids Are Hurting Too Many of Us. We Need a New Approach
Fatal overdoses are on the rise in the United States, with the proliferation of potent, synthetic opioids like illicit fentanyl. But deaths are just the tip of America's iceberg-sized opioid crisis. To save and improve lives, policymakers will need to take a holistic approach. People who use opioids and their families should be at the heart of this new response.
Mar 16, 2023
Visualization
The Ecosystem Approach to Opioid Policy
RAND researchers created a tool to help federal, state, and local policymakers better understand issues surrounding opioids as an ecosystem—and explore innovative policy ideas.
Mar 16, 2023
Commentary
Everyone Over 21 Has a 'License to Drink.' When Should It Get Suspended?
Excessive drinking creates massive economic costs because of its effects on workplace productivity, health care expenditures, and crime. This raises the question: Should some people be required to stop drinking?
Mar 11, 2023
Blog
U.S. Cooperation with China and Russia, Artificial Intelligence, War in Ukraine: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on U.S. security cooperation with China and Russia, artificial intelligence, consequences of Russia's war in Ukraine, and more.
Mar 10, 2023
Tool
CLARO Intervention User Manual: A Guide for Care Teams and Individual Practitioners
The Collaboration Leading to Addiction Treatment and Recovery from Other Stresses research study advances collaborative care treatment for patients who have opioid use disorder with major depressive disorder and/or posttraumatic stress disorder.
Mar 10, 2023

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RAND Topic:
Drug Policy and Trends

Topic Synonyms:
Drug Policy Research

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Evan D. Peet

Codirector, RAND Center for Causal Inference

Evan Peet (he/him/his) is codirector of the RAND Center for Causal Inference, an economist at the RAND Corporation, and a professor of policy analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. His research focuses on health, human capital, labor, and environmental policy. His current research focuses…
Beau Kilmer

McCauley Chair in Drug Policy Innovation

Beau Kilmer (he/him) is the McCauley Chair in Drug Policy Innovation, codirector of the RAND Drug Policy Research Center, and a senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. His research lies at the intersection of public health and public safety, with special emphasis on crime control,…

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