RAND-USC Schaeffer Opioid Policy Tools and Information Center (OPTIC)
The opioid crisis continues to evolve. Increasingly a polysubstance crisis, its effects and policy responses to it have been transformed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and structural inequalities and systemic racism have exacerbated the burden for certain populations.
The RAND-USC Schaeffer Opioid Policy Tools and Information Center (OPTIC) is playing a prominent role in the struggle to confront the crisis effectively. Our mission is to be a national resource, fostering innovative research in opioid policy science, and disseminating methods, tools, and information to the research community, policymakers, and other stakeholders.
OPTIC's multi-institutional team brings specialized knowledge of opioid outcome datasets, policies, and methods. We seek to identify targeted policies and broad strategies that can reduce opioid-related harms in both the short and long term. We develop public goods including data repositories, simulation tools, and specialized products to increase the speed with which the substance use disorder research field can address its ever-changing needs.
Stay Informed: How are opioid settlement funds being allocated?
The sum of opioid settlements reached between corporations, states, and localities now exceeds $54 billion. Decisionmakers at all levels may wish to know how the funds are being allocated.
Real time information about allocations is available at opioidsettlementtracker.com, curated by Christine Minhee, J.D.:
- The settlement spending page documents how states are planning to allocate their opioid settlement funds. No two states have similar approaches.
- The public reporting page documents states’ initial promises to public report their opioid settlement expenditures and summarizes public reporting requirements.
OPTIC is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (P50DA046351). It is a collaborative effort with the USC Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy.
