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Substance Use

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Substance use touches on many facets of public policy, including health and health care, economic issues, criminal justice, and risk behaviors — particularly among youth. Accordingly, RAND conducts drug policy research that addresses a range of concerns, from treatment effectiveness, harm reduction, drug markets and supply, and predictors and consequences to evaluations of programs to prevent youth from using and abusing drugs, alcohol, and tobacco.

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.
Project

Can the 24/7 Sobriety Program Reduce Problem Drinking and Improve Public Health?

Nov 15, 2012

The 24/7 Sobriety Program requires those arrested for or convicted of alcohol-related offenses to take twice-a-day breathalyzer tests or wear a continuous alcohol monitoring bracelet. Those who fail or skip their tests are immediately subject to swift, certain but modest sanctions—typically a day or two in jail.

Explore Substance Use

Journal Article

Journal Article

The Feasibility of a Web Intervention for Military and Veteran Spouses Concerned About Their Partner's Alcohol Misuse

It is feasible to deliver a web-based intervention to help concerned partners of military service members and veterans who suffer from alcohol misuse; partners found the program useful and acceptable.

Apr 18, 2018
Journal Article

Journal Article

Longitudinal Associations Between Alcohol-Related Cognitions and Use in African American and European American Adolescent Girls

Variation in associations between use and cognition (perceptions of drinking) does not account for the lower prevalence of alcohol use in African American girls as compared to white girls from ages 12-17.

Apr 11, 2018
Journal Article

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

Journal Article

Predictors of Retention in an Alcohol and Risky Sex Prevention Program for Homeless Young Adults

Homeless young adults were less likely to complete an alcohol and other drug and risky sex prevention program if they had slept outside or received the program in an urban setting.

Apr 3, 2018
Journal Article

One Size Fits All? Disentangling the Effects of Tobacco Taxes, Laws, and Control Spending on Adult Subgroups in the US

Among three state-level tobacco policies (cigarette taxation, tobacco control spending, and smoke-free air laws, only taxation significantly reduced smoking among the general adult population.

Mar 28, 2018
Journal Article

Medical Marijuana Laws and Adolescent Marijuana Use in the United States: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Current evidence does not support the hypothesis that US medical marijuana laws until 2014 have led to increases in adolescent marijuana use.

Mar 22, 2018
Journal Article

Journal Article

Using Marijuana, Drinking Alcohol or a Combination of Both: The Association of Marijuana, Alcohol and Sexual Risk Behaviour Among Adolescents

Adolescents were who used both alcohol and marijuana or alcohol alone were more likely than others to report having both two or more sexual partners and condomless sex in the past month.

Mar 22, 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
Journal Article

Journal Article

Does Documented Brief Intervention Predict Decreases in Alcohol Use in Primary Care?

Increased documentation of elements of a Brief Intervention was not associated with decreased heavy drinking among patients 6 months after they had been identified as having unhealthy alcohol use.

Mar 1, 2018
Journal Article

Market Supply and the Opioid Crisis: Looking Back for a Path Forward

Abundant supply of opioids was one of the major causes of the opioid crisis. Broader supply-side policies that consider the full market, if coupled with effective treatment, are likely to be effective and resistant to substitution effects.

Mar 1, 2018
Journal Article

Journal Article

Using Claims Data to Examine Hospital Readmission Risk in Patients With Schizophrenia and Comorbid Marijuana Use Disorders

Results suggest that AUD and other drug use disorder are more problematic than marijuana use disorder in terms of repeated hospital admissions for SSD. Marijuana use disorder does not appear to be associated with shorter times until readmission.

Feb 21, 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

Journal Article

Assessing Changes in Alcohol Use and Alcohol Use Disorder Prevalence in the United States: Evidence from National Surveys from 2002 Through 2014

Differences in epidemiological survey estimates can sometimes occur from seemingly minor method variations; these variations deserve special attention when increases or declines are seen in study populations.

Feb 15, 2018
Journal Article

Journal Article

Influence of Mental Health and Alcohol or Other Drug Use Risk on Adolescent Reported Care Received in Primary Care Settings

Adolescents at risk for alcohol or other drug use and poor mental health are most likely to benefit from a brief intervention delivered in primary care.

Feb 14, 2018
Journal Article

Journal Article

Implementing the Chronic Care Model for Opioid and Alcohol Use Disorders in Primary Care

This paper describes the process of planning and developing an intervention for delivering treatment for opioid and alcohol use disorders in primary care.

Feb 14, 2018
Commentary

How Will Cannabis Legalization Affect Alcohol Consumption?

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.

Feb 13, 2018
Journal Article

Journal Article

The Evaluation of Medical Inpatients Who Are Admitted on Long-term Opioid Therapy for Chronic Pain

Outpatient guidelines can help hospitalists evaluate inpatients on long-term opioid therapy, but more work is needed to help providers make decisions for inpatients that balance effective pain treatment and opioid risk reduction.

Feb 13, 2018
Journal Article

Showing Adolescents Graphic Anti-Smoking Posters May Encourage Some to Try Smoking

Exposing teens to graphic anti-smoking posters may actually increase the risk that some start smoking. Some teens who viewed a poster depicting gruesome displays of smoking-caused diseases actually reported being more susceptible to cigarette smoking after viewing the displays during a shopping trip.

Feb 13, 2018
Journal Article

Journal Article

Assessing and Improving Organizational Readiness to Implement Substance Use Disorder Treatment in Primary Care: Findings from the SUMMIT Study

An organizational readiness intervention improved some implementation outcomes related to integrating treatment for opioid and alcohol use disorders in primary care, but not all.

Feb 13, 2018
Journal Article

A Pilot Test of a Motivational Interviewing Social Network Intervention to Reduce Substance Use Among Housing First Residents

Helping formerly homeless people identify members of their social network who trigger alcohol and other drug (AOD) use may motivate them to reduce high-risk AOD use in the transition to permanent housing.

Feb 9, 2018

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RAND Topic:
Substance Use

Topic Synonyms:
Drug Use