RAND Drug Policy Research Center

Addressing today’s most pressing substance use issues. Informing the drug policy of the future.

Opioids, cannabis, injectables and alcohol drug concept collage

Photo credits from left to right: Bits and Splits/Adobe Stock, underworld/Adobe Stock, Leonid/Adobe Stock, and EasyAsa/Getty Images

Substance use and efforts to influence it are the subject of serious policy debates around the world.

For more than 30 years, the RAND Drug Policy Research Center has conducted research to help decisionmakers in the United States and abroad address issues involving alcohol and other drugs. In doing so, the Center brings an objective and data-driven perspective to this often emotional and fractious policy arena.

Our team of experts includes those from many fields such as medicine, statistics, economics, psychology, sociology, law, criminal justice, decision science, and public policy. We are all committed to improving the health, social, and economic well-being of populations and communities throughout the world.

Research Highlights

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Recent Commentaries

  • Psilocybin mushrooms displayed by a grower in Denver, Colorado, November 4, 2020, photo by Trevor Hughes/Reuters

    State and Local Policy Is Changing for Psychedelics. What Will the Feds Do?

    Psychedelics are attracting interest as a treatment for some mental health conditions. In response, some states and cities are changing their laws and policies on the supply and use of these mind-altering substances. But like cannabis, most psychedelics are federally prohibited—raising some tough questions for the federal government.

  • Stylized photo of Pattie and Joel Vargas with stylized opioid tablets layered over top.

    Illegal Opioids Are Hurting Too Many of Us. We Need a New Approach

    Fatal overdoses are on the rise in the United States, with the proliferation of potent, synthetic opioids like illicit fentanyl. But deaths are just the tip of America's iceberg-sized opioid crisis. To save and improve lives, policymakers will need to take a holistic approach. People who use opioids and their families should be at the heart of this new response.

  • A deputy administers a breath test for alcohol during a 24/7 Sobriety program morning check-in in Utah, May 24, 2022, photo courtesy of the Utah Department of Public Safety

    Everyone Over 21 Has a 'License to Drink.' When Should It Get Suspended?

    Excessive drinking creates massive economic costs because of its effects on workplace productivity, health care expenditures, and crime. This raises the question: Should some people be required to stop drinking?

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RAND DPRC Research Making an Impact

The RAND Drug Policy Research Center was created to take a comprehensive look at big-picture issues involving drug policies to examine how they evolved and provide insight on how they might change in the future. Our research efforts to improve alcohol and other drug policies around the world have led to a number of salient accomplishments.

  • Plastic bags of Fentanyl are displayed on a table at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection area at the International Mail Facility at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, November 29, 2017

    Evolution of the U.S. Overdose Crisis

    Bryce Pardo testified before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations on the role of synthetic opioids in the U.S. overdose crisis.

  • Large indoor marijuana legal recreational commercial growing operation

    Cannabis Legalization in Canada

    Beau Kilmer provided testimony to the Canadian legislature on different alternatives to prohibition, including considerations for prices, taxes, and international implications.