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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.

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
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

Explore Substance Use

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
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
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
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
News Release
RAND Factbook Highlights Demographic, Mental Health and Labor Participation of Military Veterans
A factbook, accompanied by a collection of infographics, explores trends and estimates about the demographics of veterans. It focuses on the size, sex, age, race/ethnicity, educational attainment, and geographic distribution of the veteran population as compared with nonveterans.
Oct 24, 2023
Infographic
Alcohol and Substance Use Among U.S. Veterans
Nearly one-quarter of all veterans report binge drinking within the past month. Veterans who served after 9/11 have higher rates of all substance use behaviors, including alcohol and drug use disorders, than those who served exclusively before 9/11.
Oct 24, 2023
Report
A Summary of Veteran-Related Statistics
What are some trends and statistics among the U.S. veteran population? Baseline estimates related to veterans' demographics, mental health, and labor market outcomes can support the work of policymakers and researchers focused on veteran-related issues.
Oct 24, 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
Journal Article
Comparing Organization-Focused and State-Focused Financing Strategies on Provider-Level Reach of a Youth Substance Use Treatment Model: A Mixed-Method Study
This study compared two US federal grant mechanisms, organization-focused and state-focused grants, on organization-level implementation outcomes for the Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach, an evidence-based practice for youth substance use.
Oct 16, 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
Journal Article
US State Laws Relevant to Incentives for Health Behavior: A Qualitative Analysis
The research team conducted a systematic NexisUni legal database review of state statutes and regulations effective during 2022 to identify laws relevant to contingency management.
Oct 5, 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

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RAND Topic:
Substance Use

Topic Synonyms:
Drug Use

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Katherine I. Morley

Senior Research Leader

Kate Morley (she/her) is a senior research leader at the RAND Corporation. She works primarily with RAND Europe in the Health and Wellbeing Research Group. Morley has a background in epidemiology and biostatistics, and in-depth understanding of a broad range of quantitative and qualitative…
Megan S. Schuler

Policy Researcher

Megan Schuler is an applied statistician at the RAND Corporation. Her research focuses on substance use and mental health disorders and methodologically on causal inference methods which facilitate rigorous analysis of observational health data. As a co-investigator affiliated with the RAND…

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