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Substance Use Harm Reduction

News Release

News Release

Providing Supervised Medical-Grade Heroin to Heavy Users Can Reduce Harms; Approach Merits Pilot Study in U.S.

Providing supervised access to medical-grade heroin to people whose use continues after trying multiple traditional treatments has been successful in other countries, and should be piloted and studied in the United States.

Dec 6, 2018
Report

Considering Heroin-Assisted Treatment and Supervised Drug Consumption Sites in America

Increasing access to medications like methadone and buprenorphine is essential to addressing the U.S. opioid crisis. But the severity of the crisis warrants examining additional interventions. What does the evidence suggest about heroin-assisted treatment and supervised consumption sites? And what are some of the issues associated with implementing them in the United States?

Dec 6, 2018
Journal Article

Use of Medication Therapy to Treat Opioid Abuse Among Medicaid Recipients Increased After Approval of New Drug

The number of Medicaid recipients receiving medication to treat opioid abuse increased sharply in the years after approval of buprenorphine, but the increase was smaller in poorer counties and areas with larger populations of black and Hispanic residents.

Jun 27, 2018
News Release

News Release

Use of Medication Therapy to Treat Opioid Abuse Among Medicaid Recipients Increased After Approval of New Drug

The number of Medicaid recipients receiving medication to treat opioid abuse increased sharply in the years after approval of buprenorphine, but the increase was smaller in poorer counties and areas with larger populations of black and Hispanic residents.

Jun 25, 2018
Journal Article

Journal Article

Addressing the Opioid Epidemic in the United States: Lessons from the Department of Veterans Affairs

Reflecting a comprehensive VA effort to improve pain management, in 2007 fewer veterans received high doses of opioids and more veterans received non-opioid pain therapies, naloxone, and treatment for substance use disorders.

Apr 26, 2018
Journal Article

Effects of Motivational Interviewing Fidelity on Substance Use Treatment Engagement in Primary Care

Motivational interviewing is used extensively to improve health and substance use-related outcomes, but therapists may need more training in strategic use of the approach.

Apr 3, 2018
Journal Article

Use of Protective Behavioral Strategies Among Young Adult Veteran Marijuana Users

Taking periodic breaks from marijuana use or avoiding using marijuana before work or school may be important protective strategies for young veterans who choose to use marijuana to cope with symptoms of PTSD.

Mar 20, 2018
Commentary

Strategies to Help Young Adults Limit Negative Consequences of Marijuana Use

Young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 have been shown to be the most prevalent and problematic users of marijuana. There are proven strategies that they can use to help protect themselves from experiencing harmful effects.

Feb 19, 2018
Journal Article

Link Between Medical Marijuana and Fewer Opioid Deaths Is More Complex Than Previously Reported

The association between medical marijuana and lower levels of opioid overdose deaths—identified previously in several studies—is more complex than previously described. It appears to be changing as both medical marijuana laws and the opioid crisis evolve.

Feb 8, 2018
Journal Article

The Protective Behavioral Strategies for Marijuana Scale: Further Examination Using Item Response Theory

The Protective Behavioral Strategies for Marijuana scale identifies strategies that may mitigate the harms related to marijuana use by young people.

Aug 25, 2017
Journal Article

Journal Article

Desistance Mandates Compared with Treatment Mandates in Criminal Justice Populations

Empowering those under criminal justice supervision to cease drug use on their own - rather than forcing them into formal treatment against their will - is a policy approach that warrants further evaluation.

Jun 8, 2017
Journal Article

Journal Article

A Group-Based Motivational Interviewing Brief Intervention to Reduce Substance Use and Sexual Risk Behavior Among Homeless Young Adults

A brief group-based motivational interview intervention was effective in helping homeless young adults make positive changes in their alcohol and condom use.

Mar 16, 2017
Journal Article

Measuring Protective Behavioral Strategies for Marijuana Use Among Young Adults

The Protective Behavioral Strategies for Marijuana scale can assess behaviors in young adults that could help limit negative consequences of marijuana use, which may be useful for intervention and prevention programs.

Sep 6, 2016
Commentary

Should Some Californians Lose Their 'License to Drink'?

In California, many efforts to reduce repeat drunken driving focus on the driving. What if the state targeted the “drunk” aspect instead?

Jul 6, 2016
Journal Article

Journal Article

Implementation of the Tobacco-Free Campus Policy on College Campuses: Evidence from a Survey of College Students in Beijing

A survey of Beijing college students suggests that the Tobacco Free Campus Policy for Chinese college campuses is not fully enforced.

May 25, 2016
Journal Article

Frequent Alcohol Testing Combined with Swift, Certain, and Modest Sanctions Is Associated with Drop in Mortality

An innovative program that requires alcohol-involved offenders to abstain from alcohol and submit to frequent tests was associated with a 4 percent drop in mortality. The associations were most evident among causes of death related to excessive alcohol use, such as circulatory conditions.

Feb 18, 2016
News Release

News Release

Frequent Alcohol Testing Combined with Swift, Certain and Modest Sanctions Is Associated with Drop in Mortality

An innovative program that requires alcohol-involved offenders to abstain from alcohol and submit to frequent tests was associated with a 4 percent drop in deaths. The associations were most evident among causes of death related to excessive alcohol use, such as circulatory conditions.

Feb 9, 2016
Commentary

Is Concern About Powdered Alcohol Distracting from More Serious Drinking Problems?

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.

Aug 17, 2015
Report

Report

Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention for Substance Use Disorders: A Systematic Review

RAND researchers conducted a systematic review that synthesized evidence from trials of Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP) to provide estimates of its efficacy and safety for treating substance use disorders.

Jul 28, 2015
Report

Report

Needle Acupuncture for Substance Use Disorders: A Systematic Review

RAND researchers conducted a systematic review that synthesized evidence from trials of needle acupuncture to provide estimates of its efficacy and safety for treating substance use disorders.

Jul 28, 2015

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