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: Underage Substance UseDepression appears to reduce the effect of peer influence on marijuana use among adolescents participating in two separate studies.
Exposure to the tobacco power wall in retail settings like convenience stores may increase adolescents' willingness to try e-cigarettes, much like other tobacco products.
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.
Regulations on medical marijuana (MM) advertising—similar to those for tobacco and alcohol—may mitigate negative consequences of MM on adolescents.
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.
Culturally-tailored smoking prevention programs that focus on different aspects of antisocial deviance -- e.g., risk taking vs rule breaking -- may help reduce teen smoking rates.
After recreational marijuana laws were passed, perceived harm associated with marijuana use decreased among students in 8th and 10th grades in Washington state and use increased; neither perception nor use changed in Colorado after legalization.
Adaptive interventions (AIs) - sequences of decision rules for altering treatment based on an individual's needs - would benefit substance abuse treatment for adolescents.
This study found two correlates to an evidence-based measure of substance use treatment (A-CRA) implementation.
Adolescents who use electronic cigarettes may engage in fewer risky behaviors than their tobacco smoking peers, but their physical health and engagement in protective health behaviors is not necessarily any better.
Two composite assessments of quality - one with treatment staffing and delivery elements and the other with clinical supervision elements - can be used to measure the sustainment of evidence-based treatment.
State actions to relax marijuana policies vary substantially, making it difficult to compare policies and draw conclusions about user and market reactions.
Graphic antismoking posters in places where cigarettes are sold may have the unintended effect of increasing cigarette smoking susceptibility among adolescents already at risk.
Providers' ability to sustain A-CRA programming beyond initial implementation support depended on factors such as the level of implementation success, staff perceptions toward the intervention, funding stability, and community support.
The cannabis-policy landscape is undergoing dramatic change. Although many jurisdictions have removed criminal penalties for possessing small amounts of cannabis and more than half of U.S. states allow physicians to recommend it to patients, legalizing the supply and possession of cannabis for nonmedical purposes is a very different public policy.
Developing a series of strategies and tools to reach homeless youth makes it possible to conduct research with and provide outreach to this at-risk yet hard-to-reach population.
Perceived injunctive norms (i.e., what behaviors peers find acceptable) should be targeted in prevention programs with youth because these perceptions are associated with multiple drinking outcomes, such as heavy drinking.
Treatment-seeking for substance use disorders among adolescents is more effective at promoting engagement with health care if the motivation comes from the adolescent him/herself rather than from a caregiver.
Evidence suggests some health benefits for medical marijuana; however, initiation of marijuana use during adolescence is a risk factor for problem marijuana use later in life.
This study explored the process of adoption and implementation of a school-based drug and alcohol prevention program, Project ALERT, in the country of Chile.
