Below are the most recent reports and articles from the RAND Drug Policy Research Center. Please visit our RAND Topics pages for a complete research archive on these and other drug policy-related research topics.
RAND Topic Pages: Substance UseThe present study is a first step in understanding the prevalence, types, and correlates of co-use in a probability sample of young tobacco users experiencing homelessness.
This study sheds light on the distribution of buprenorphine-waivered prescribers over the past decade. Growth has been rapid in communities affected by the opioid crisis, but slower in rural communities, and those with lower levels of education.
Urban Native American teens may benefit from culturally centered programs. No differences found between MICUNAY + Community Wellness Gatherings (CWGs) and CWGs only.
The objective of this study is to test for differences in the prevalence of a range of substance use behaviors and disorders across LGBT individuals of the same gender using a nationally representative sample of adults.
In the six jurisdictions with the highest rate of opioid-related mortality in 2016, the most prominent barrier to accessing buprenorphine treatment was the difficulty of finding clinicians.
Addressing mental health in primary care may be important for decreasing alcohol problems in adolescents.
The growing use of medication treatment for opioid use disorder in the West Virginia Medicaid expansion population provides an opportunity to reduce overdose deaths.
This analysis found a significant association among higher long-term unemployment, higher mental health clinician shortage areas, and higher county-level rates of neonatal abstinence syndrome.
Although many states have passed some type of law affecting naloxone availability, only laws allowing direct dispensing by pharmacists appear to be useful. Communities in which access to naloxone is improved should prepare for increases in nonfatal overdoses and link these individuals to effective treatment.
The primary goal of this study was to examine the relationship between the appeal of advertising for five classes of tobacco product and future intentions to use those products, among youth experiencing homelessness who had some level of experience with it.
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.
Fewer than 10% of West Virginia Medicaid enrollees received medication for opioid use disorder after a non-fatal overdose, making it an opportunity to increase treatment for opioid use disorder and co-occurring mental health conditions.
This paper assesses community perceptions of crime and the police before and after the implementation of an intervention aimed at eliminating overt drug markets through focused deterrence and police-community partnerships emphasizing racial reconciliation.
This study examines the associations between college attendance and subsequent alcohol and marijuana use behaviors at multiple ages during young adulthood and adulthood, while rigorously controlling for baseline differences by college type.
Using national data, we test for age differences in substance use disparities among LGB adults. Contrary to hypothesized decreased minority stress in recent generations, we find that disparities were not systematically smaller in younger age groups.
Lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults report higher rates of smoking and alcohol use than heterosexual peers. Prior studies have not examined whether disparities in early initiation among lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth contribute to adult disparities.
Understanding effects of cannabis laws requires greater attention to differences in short- versus long-term effects of the laws, nuances of policies and patterns of consumption, and careful consideration of appropriate control groups.
Newborns exposed to opioids before birth can experience withdrawal symptoms known as neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). From 2009 to 2015, the average NAS rate per 1,000 hospital births across eight states rose from about six to more than 25.
RAND researchers analyzed the formulas for distributing funds to states under three block grants for services related to mental health, substance abuse, and homelessness (unchanged since 1992) to determine whether they should be modified.
Opioid dosage and use increased annually for individuals with all levels of chronic pain; those with high-impact pain had average dosing 5.5 times higher than those with low-impact pain.
