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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.

Research Brief

Substance Use Among U.S. Active-Duty Service Members

Jun 21, 2018

The 2015 Health Related Behaviors Survey asked active-duty service members about their use of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit and prescription drugs. Cigarette smoking in the military has decreased over the past decade, but rates of binge drinking are still high enough to cause concern.
News Release

Youth Who Use Vaping Products Are More Likely to Smoke Cigarettes, Increase Use of Both Over Time

Oct 2, 2018

Adolescents who use vaping products are not only more likely to smoke cigarettes but are also likely to increase their use of both products over time. The increased use cannot be attributed to other risk factors, such as consuming alcohol or marijuana.

Explore Substance Use

Journal Article

Journal Article

Big Data on a Big New Market: Insights from Washington State's Legal Cannabis Market

This article examines the cannabis market in Washington state post-legalization, and the variety of products available to consumers.

Sep 20, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

Triangulating Web & General Population Surveys: Do Results Match Legal Cannabis Market Sales?

This paper combines complementary attributes of web and general population surveys to estimate cannabis consumption and spending in Washington State.

Sep 20, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

Long-term Associations Between Substance Use-Related Media Exposure, Descriptive Norms, and Alcohol Use from Adolescence to Young Adulthood

This study uses advances in longitudinal modeling to extend our understanding of how exposure to substance-related media content, quantity of alcohol use, and perceived descriptive norms about alcohol use are reciprocally related over time.

Sep 19, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

Adolescents with Better Mental Health Have Less Problem Alcohol Use Six Months Later

Addressing mental health in primary care may be important for decreasing alcohol problems in adolescents.

Sep 19, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

An Online Alcohol and Risky Sex Prevention Program for College Students Studying Abroad: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

This study protocol describes a proposed randomized controlled trial that builds upon a successful pilot intervention study to address problematic and dangerous drinking among young adult college students studying abroad in foreign environments.

Sep 19, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

Causes of Hospital Admission and Mortality Among People Who Use Heroin: A Cohort Study Comparing Relative and Absolute Risks

Age- and sex-specific mortality and hospital admission rates in the general population of London.

Sep 17, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

Who Receives Naloxone from Emergency Medical Services? Characteristics of Calls and Recent Trends

Administration of naloxone by emergency medical services personnel is increasing faster than opioid-related deaths.

Sep 17, 2019
Report

Characterization of the Synthetic Opioid Threat Profile to Inform Inspection and Detection Solutions

Researchers from the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center evaluated publicly available data to better understand consumption and supply of illegally imported synthetic opioids. In this report, they provide their findings and recommendations.

Sep 9, 2019
Report

How Law Enforcement Can Fight the Opioid Crisis

Law enforcement has a unique role in addressing the opioid crisis because it interacts with those affected by it on a day-to-day basis. Promising efforts include connecting people with opioid use disorder to treatment, collaborating to achieve community buy-in, and protecting officers on the front lines.

Sep 6, 2019
Commentary

Tackle Fentanyl like a Poisoning Outbreak, Not a Drug Epidemic

America's fentanyl problem is far deadlier than past crises with other illegal drugs. New ideas, be they public policies, technologies or law enforcement strategies, are desperately needed. Continuing to treat fentanyl just like previous drug epidemics will likely be insufficient and may condemn thousands more to early deaths.

Sep 3, 2019
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.

Aug 29, 2019
News Release

News Release

U.S. Deaths Involving Synthetic Opioids Are Unprecedented; Policymakers Must Pursue Innovative Strategies to Reverse ...

The U.S. overdose crisis worsened dramatically with the arrival of synthetic opioids like fentanyl—now responsible for tens of thousands of deaths annually—and the problem requires innovative new strategies because the epidemic is unlike others that have struck the nation.

Aug 29, 2019
Report

Synthetic Opioids: An Unprecedented Crisis

The rise of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids is unlike any drug crisis in U.S. history. Limiting policy responses to existing approaches will likely be insufficient and may condemn many people to early deaths.

Aug 29, 2019
News Release

News Release

Americans' Spending on Illicit Drugs Nears $150 Billion Annually; Appears to Rival What Is Spent on Alcohol

Spending on cannabis, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine by Americans reached nearly $150 billion in 2016, with a large proportion of spending coming from the small share of people who use drugs on a daily or near-daily basis.

Aug 20, 2019
Report

How Big Is the U.S. Market for Cannabis, Cocaine, Heroin, and Meth?

Americans spent about $150 billion on cannabis, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine in 2016—rivaling U.S. spending on alcohol. This number is driven in large part by the small share of people who use drugs on a daily or near-daily basis.

Aug 20, 2019
Testimony

Testimony

Illicit Supply of Fentanyl and Other Synthetic Opioids: Transitioning Markets and Evolving Challenges: Addendum

Document submitted on August 19, 2019, as an addendum to testimony before the House Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism and Subcommittee on Border Security, Facilitation, and Operations on July 25, 2019.

Aug 20, 2019
Journal Article

Understanding Which Teenagers Benefit Most From a Brief Primary Care Substance Use Intervention

A brief primary care intervention can be effective over the long-term for adolescents who report problems from alcohol and marijuana use.

Aug 16, 2019
Report

Synthetic Opioid Surge Is a U.S. Public Health Emergency

In less than six years, the number of fatal overdoses in the United States that involve synthetic opioids has increased tenfold. Where are synthetic opioids concentrated? And to what extent is the problem spreading?

Aug 13, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

Business Cycles and Admissions to Substance Abuse Treatment

The relationship between business cycles and health is theoretically complex. In a seminal paper, Ruhm (2000) outlined a series of economic mechanisms through which business cycles may influence health.

Aug 6, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

Supervised Consumption Sites: A Nuanced Assessment of the Causal Evidence

Supervised consumption sites (SCS) operate in more than 10 countries. We review the higher-quality SCS literature and discuss the evidence through the lens of three types of decision makers and from three intellectual perspectives.

Aug 6, 2019

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RAND Topic:
Substance Use

Topic Synonyms:
Drug Use