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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
Report
The Varied Supply Models for Recreational Cannabis
The supply and possession of cannabis for non-medical use is legal in multiple jurisdictions around the globe, with some U.S. states and Canadian provinces allowing for-profit companies to produce and sell cannabis. What are potential options that step away from prohibition without allowing a profit-oriented market to emerge?
Nov 1, 2023

Explore Drug Policy and Trends

News Release
Rise in Child Suicide in the U.S. Linked in Part to the Nation's Opioid Crisis
The rise in child suicides in the United States since 2010 was fueled in part by the nation's opioid crisis, which previous studies found increased rates of child neglect and altered household living arrangements.
Dec 4, 2023
Journal Article
Expert Views on State Policies to Improve Engagement and Retention in Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder: A Qualitative Analysis of an Online Modified Delphi Process
This study gathered expert consensus on the effectiveness and implementability of state policies to improve engagement and retention in treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD).
Dec 4, 2023
Journal Article
Growth in Suicide Rates Among Children During the Illicit Opioid Crisis
This paper shows how the transition of the opioid crisis to illicit opioids increased suicide rates among children.
Nov 29, 2023
Commentary
Political Manifestos Should Do Better Than “Legalise It”
After years of political deadlock, a new era for drug policy in the Netherlands seems to be on the horizon. At least two factors are increasing politicians' appetite for change: increased awareness of the problems of drug-related organized crime in the Netherlands, and Dutch drug policy no longer being ahead of the curve.
Nov 21, 2023
Journal Article
Trends in Personal and Family Member Opioid Prescriptions Prior to a Diagnosis of an Opioid-Related Problem Among Adolescents and Young Adults
This study examined the proportion of adolescents and young adults who had an opioid-related problem and who also had a personal opioid prescription drug claim or had a family member with an opioid prescription drug claim prior to the diagnosis.
Nov 15, 2023
Tool
CLARO Implementation Manual: Strategies and Supports for Successful Implementation of the CLARO Intervention
This manual describes how to implement the Collaboration Leading to Addiction Treatment and Recovery from Other Stresses (CLARO) intervention, which adapts the Collaborative Care Model for adults with opioid use disorder and depression and/or PTSD.
Nov 13, 2023
Essay
Therapeutic Use of Psychedelics in Treating PTSD and Depression Among Veterans
Clinical trials have shown that psychedelics can have a positive effect on mental health conditions like PTSD or depression for some people. Enthusiasm for these treatments has grown among veterans and providers who work with military populations. The VA should invest in research and provide guidance on psychedelics.
Nov 8, 2023
Blog
Disinformation Amid the Israel-Hamas War, U.S. Gun Policy, Cannabis: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on how the information war may play out between Israel and Hamas, what the evidence says (and doesn't say) about U.S. gun policy, supply models for recreational cannabis, and more.
Nov 3, 2023
Journal Article
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Email-Based Nudges to Reduce Postoperative Opioid Prescribing: Study Protocol of a Randomised Controlled Trial
Study protocol of a randomized controlled trial testing the effectiveness of two behavioral nudges, one based on peer behavior and one based on best practice guidelines, in reducing excessive postoperative opioid prescriptions.
Oct 30, 2023
Testimony
Improving Treatment Outcomes for Veterans with Mental Health Conditions
Current treatments for veterans experiencing PTSD and other mental health conditions are largely effective but they do not work for everyone. More treatments that yield better outcomes are needed. With sustained research investment and careful planning, psychedelic-assisted therapies hold great promise to improve care for veterans.
Oct 19, 2023
Blog
Israel-Hamas War, Overdose Deaths, Striking Health Care Workers: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on historical context for the Israel-Hamas war, the link between education and fatal overdoses, why U.S. health care workers are striking, and more.
Oct 13, 2023
Journal Article
Educational Attainment and US Drug Overdose Deaths
This paper studies how overdose rates have disproportionately changed for low education populations.
Oct 9, 2023
News Release
Rise in Overdose Deaths Increasingly Affects Those with Lower Educational Attainment
Drug overdose deaths increased sharply among Americans without a college education and nearly doubled over a three-year period among those who don't have a high school diploma. The findings further highlight a potential association between the rise in drug overdose deaths and barriers to education access, a social determinant of health.
Oct 6, 2023
Journal Article
Expert Consensus-Based Guidance on Approaches to Opioid Management in Individuals with Advanced Cancer-Related Pain and Nonmedical Stimulant Use
Palliative care and addiction experts considered continuing opioids, increasing monitoring, and avoiding opioid tapering in the context of cancer-related pain and nonmedical stimulant use to be appropriate.
Sep 13, 2023
Commentary
The Solution to Telemedicine Prescribing of Buprenorphine Seems Clear to Everyone but DEA
For more than a decade, Congress, clinicians, and policymakers have been requesting implementation of a special registration pathway that would allow registered clinicians to prescribe buprenorphine without an in-person visit requirement. It's clear to us that the time to implement the pathway is now.
Sep 5, 2023
Journal Article
Does Removing Menthol Cigarettes in Convenience Stores Reduce Susceptibility to Cigarette Smoking?
Conducted in the RAND StoreLab — a life-sized research convenience store — researchers evaluated whether the absence of menthol products from a convenience store influenced young people’s susceptibility to cigarette smoking.
Sep 5, 2023
Blog
The State of Public Education, the Opioid Crisis, Defending Taiwan: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the state of public education in America right now, a missing piece of the strategy for addressing the opioid crisis, emerging technology that could help defend Taiwan, and more.
Sep 1, 2023
Commentary
Strategies to Prevent Clinically Unnecessary Opioid Use
Guidance on how to direct opioid-related settlement funds has focused on reducing deaths and improving treatment for substance use disorders. What's also needed are strategies to reduce opioid initiation, particularly through effective pain management with nonopioid alternatives.
Aug 29, 2023
Journal Article
Design of CLARO+ (Collaboration Leading to Addiction Treatment and Recovery from Other Stresses, Plus): A Randomized Trial of Collaborative Care to Decrease Overdose and Suicide Risk Among Patients with Co-Occurring Disorders
We build upon a model of collaborative care in which care coordinators deliver preventative measures to high-risk patients and coordinate care with the patients' care team, to increase MOUD retention and decrease risk of suicide and overdose.
Aug 17, 2023

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RAND Topic:
Drug Policy and Trends

Topic Synonyms:
Drug Policy Research

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Wenjing Huang

Behavioral and Social Scientist

Wenjing Huang is a psychometrician at the RAND Corporation. She specializes in developing standardized assessment tools for measuring mental health, substance use, skills, knowledge and aptitudes related issues in health, education, and workplace settings.
Claude Messan Setodji

Senior Statistician and Associate Research Director of Economics, Sociology, and Statistics Department

Claude Messan Setodji is a senior statistician, associate research department director of the Economics, Sociology, and Statistics Department at the RAND Corporation and was one of the founding members of the RAND Center for Causal Inference. His research interests include applications of…

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