Diverting recently released state prison offenders who abuse substances to treatment would reduce crime and save billions.

Nearly one third of state prison inmates use drugs at the time of their offense, and more than half show signs of drug dependence or abuse. In new research which models substance abuse and crime as people move in and out of the prison system Gary A. Zarkin and Alexander J. Cowell examine the lifetime costs and benefits of diverting non-violent substance abusers from prison to community-based treatment. They find that those who complete community-based treatment commit fewer crimes by the end of the first year of the program, and that as a whole the program could save more than $14 billion for the criminal justice system and have lifetime social benefits of$25 billion

Cost and Cost-effectiveness of the COMBINE Study in Alcohol-Dependent Patients

The COMBINE clinical trial recently evaluated the efficacy of medications, behavioral therapies, and their combinations for the outpatient treatment of alcohol dependence. The costs and cost-effectiveness of these combinations are unknown and of interest to clinicians and policy makers

The Effects of Prices and Policies on the Demand for Marijuana: Evidence from the National Household Surveys on Drug Abuse

Recent studies have shown that efforts to curb alcohol use by increasing the price of alcohol and limiting youth's access have succeeded, but they may have had the unintended consequencce of increasing marijuana use. This possibility is troubling in light of a recent government report that shows that marijuana use among teens more than doubled between 1990 and 1997. What impact will the proposed large increase in cigarette prices have on the demand for other substances such as marijuana? To better understand how the demand for marijuana responds to changes in the policies and prices that affect its use, we explore the National Household Survy on Drug Abuse (NHSDA). Overall, we find that marijuana, alcohol, and tobacco are complements, sot that increasing the price of any one will decrease the demand for marijuana. The results of this paper will help guide the creation of comprehensive policies that curb the use of marijuana in two ways: first, they quantify the effects of policies aimed at curbing the use of each substance, allowing policymakers to evaluate alternative policy options; and second, they clarify the dynamics and interactions between alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use in response to government policies.

Consumers’ Preferences for Electronic Nicotine Delivery System Product Features: A Structured Content Analysis

To inform potential governmental regulations, we aimed to develop a list of electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) product features important to U.S. consumers by age and gender. We employed qualitative data methods. Participants were eligible if they had used an ENDS at least once. Groups were selected by age and gender (young adult group aged 18–25, n = 11; middle-age group aged 26–64, n = 9; and women’s group aged 26–64, n = 9). We conducted five individual older adult interviews (aged 68–80). Participants discussed important ENDS features. We conducted a structured content analysis of the group and interview responses. Of 34 participants, 68% were white and 56% were female. Participants mentioned 12 important ENDS features, including: (1) user experience; (2) social acceptability; (3) cost; (4) health risks/benefits; (5) ease of use; (6) flavors; (7) smoking cessation aid; (8) nicotine content; (9) modifiability; (10) ENDS regulation; (11) bridge between tobacco cigarettes; (12) collectability. The most frequently mentioned ENDS feature was modifiability for young adults, user experience for middle-age and older adults, and flavor for the women’s group. This study identified multiple features important to ENDS consumers. Groups differed in how they viewed various features by age and gender. These results can inform ongoing regulatory efforts

The Effect of Alcohol Treatment on Social Costs of Alcohol Dependence: Results From the COMBINE Study

The COMBINE (Combined Pharmacotherapies and Behavioral Intervention) clinical trial recently evaluated the efficacy of pharmacotherapies, behavioral therapies, and their combinations for the treatment of alcohol dependence. Previously, the cost and cost-effectiveness of COMBINE have been studied. Policy makers, patients, and nonalcohol-dependent individuals may be concerned not only with alcohol treatment costs but also with the impact of alcohol interventions on broader social costs and outcomes