Research and Data on Drug Policy

"Globally, drug use is not distributed evenly and is not simply related to drug policy, since countries with stringent user-level illegal drug policies did not have lower levels of use than countries with liberal ones."

"An estimated 809,800 prisoners of the 1,518,535 held in the nation's prisons at midyear 2007 were parents of minor children, or children under age 18. Parents held in the nation's prisons – 52% of state inmates and 63% of federal inmates reported having an estimated 1,706,600 minor children, accounting for 2.3% of the U.S. resident population under age 18."

"This report provides an overview of U.S. international drug control policy. It describes major international counternarcotic initiatives and evaluates the broad array of U.S. drug control policy tools currently in use. The report also considers alternative counterdrug policy approaches to international drug control initiatives and raises several counterdrug policy issues and considerations for policy makers."

This report on state and federal prisoner populations was formerly part of the Prisoners and Jail Inmates at Midyear report series.

This report on jail inmate populations in the US at midyear 2007 was formerly part of the Prisoners and Jail Inmates at Midyear report series.

"Three decades of growth in America's prison population has quietly nudged the nation across a sobering threshold: for the first time, more than one in every 100 adults is now confined in an American jail or prison. According to figures gathered and analyzed by the Pew Public Safety Performance Project, the number of people behind bars in the United States continued to climb in 2007, saddling cash-strapped states with soaring costs they can ill afford and failing to have a clear impact either on recidivism or overall crime."

This research article reports the findings from the first prospective randomized control trial of student drug testing programs, the Student Athlete Testing Using Random Notification (SATURN) program. According to the research, "student-athletes in DAT [Drug and Alcohol Testing] schools reported less positive attitudes, after the policy was instituted, consistent with our pilot study findings. At the final assessment, DAT athletes believed less in the benefits of drug testing, believed less that testing was a reason not to use drugs, and reported that school officials were less opposed to drug use than the students at comparison schools." Further, "no differences were noted at any of the four follow-up time points for past month indices of use of drugs or use of drugs and alcohol."

This US Justice Department report provides statistical information about federal and state prisoner populations at year end 2006. This report also provides a breakdown of offense type.

This report from the USGAO examines thousands of allegations of abuse of young people at residential treatment programs around the US, and closely examines several specific cases of deaths at these programs.

This publication from the Drug Misuse Research Division of Ireland's Health Research Board provides a comprehensive review of the relationship between drugs and crime. (The HRB is a statutory body with a mission to improve health through research and information.)

This report examines the cost offsets and the benefit-cost ratios of the Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act(SACPA) [Proposition 36].

Study commissioned by Drug Policy Alliance focusing on the impact of possible criminal justice reforms in the state of Wisconsin. The report calls for establishment of a solving court that targets prison-bound individuals with severe addiction problems and expansion of local alternatives to incarceration using a mix of state grants, community corrections subsidies and state purchase of local services for probation and parole. Issued Jan. 2006.

Annual report providing detailed demographic information about the nation's prison population, including the number of offenders in state and federal prisons serving time for drug offenses.Issued in Oct. 2005.

The victimization survey is the nation's primary source of information about the frequency, characteristics, and consequences of victimization among individuals 12 and older, and property crime in the United States. It has been conducted continuously since 1973.

This publication summarizes the results of the 2003 European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD). Students in 35 countries across Europe were surveyed on behaviors including cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, drunkenness and use of illicit drugs.

This policy brief measures the efficacy and the impact of US national drug control policies. Law enforcement has been at the center of federal spending on criminal justice responses to drug use for decades. Yet leading national indicators of drug use and drug violations show that there is nuclear relationship between drug arrests and drug use, and that the impactor increased arrests, convictions and incarcerations of people for marijuana offenses has significant and measurable collateral consequences on communities and individuals.

The Methamphetamine Interagency Task Force was established by the Comprehensive Methamphetamine Control Act passed by the US Congress in1996. Between 1998 and 1999, this federal task force explored and documented methamphetamine use, trafficking and production in the US and developed an advisory report that outlined a set of principles, needs and recommendations, and research priorities. The aim was to inform the implementation of a national strategy responding to methamphetamine use.The task force emphasized that the strategy to be developed should be comprehensive and interdisciplinary. That is, it should fully integrate the work of the various levels of government, State, and Federal partners in law enforcement, health, education, and other disciplines-and should be based on scientifically sound research, best practices, and programs that have proven 'what works.'

This is the third in a series of annual reports from the independent statewide evaluation of the Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act(SACPA) [Proposition 36] prepared by UCLA Integrated SubstanceAbuse Programs for the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs.

"When A Framework for Action: A Four Pillar Approach to Drug Problems in Vancouver was adopted by City Council in 2001,Vancouver committed to developing a comprehensive strategy based on the best evidence available to address harmful drug use in the city.In public meetings across the city, citizens called for a more focused, coordinated and sustained approach to addressing drug related issues. This plan highlights both the complexity and centrality of prevention in any discussion of a comprehensive Four Pillar approach to harmful drug use." "This plan recommends that regulation of currently illegal substances should be considered with the goals of increasing our ability to prevent harm to individuals and communities from substance use and of eliminating the involvement of organized crime in these drug markets. We propose that the Federal Government proceed in this direction by first tackling the regulation of cannabis, next evaluating the results and finally moving incrementally to bring more currently illegal substances into regulatory frameworks."

"Since 2001 the federal government has similarly accelerated its pursuit of physicians it says are contributing to the alleged rising tide of prescription drug addiction. By demonizing physicians as drug dealers and exaggerating the health risks of pain management, the federal government has made physicians scapegoats for the failed drug war."

This issue of MMWR features the results of an updated survey of US syringe programs. The survey, performed in 2002 by staff from theBeth Israel Medical Center in New York City and the NorthAmerican Syringe Exchange Network (NASEN) found that"In 2002, for the first time in 8 years, the number of SEPs,the number of localities with SEPs, and the amount of public funding for SEPs in the United States decreased; however, the total number of syringes exchanged and total budgets for allSEPs surveyed continued to increase."

This is the second in a series of annual reports from the independent statewide evaluation of the Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act(SACPA) [Proposition 36]. Prepared by UCLA Integrated SubstanceAbuse Programs for the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs, the report covers the second year of SACPA (July 1, 2002 to June 30, 2003)and compares findings across the first and second years.

This is the first report of findings from the evaluation of theSubstance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act (SACPA) [Proposition 36].Prepared by UCLA for the California Department of Alcohol andDrug Programs, the report focuses on implementation of SACPA in the state's 58 counties during the year beginning July 1, 2001 and ending June 30, 2002.

This report presents data from the 2002 Survey of Inmates in Local Jails on inmates' prior use, dependence, and abuse of alcohol and illegal drugs. The report also provides data on types of substance abuse treatment or other programs reported by jail inmates. It presents measures of dependence and abuse by gender, race, Hispanic origin, age, and most serious offense. The report compares the levels of prior substance use, dependence, abuse, and treatment by selected characteristics, such as family background, criminal record, type of substance, and offense. Tables include trends in the levels of substance use and treatment reported by jail inmates since the last national survey was conducted in 1996.

The KCBA Treatment Policy and Funding Task Force was formed to consider policies and programs to reduce the extent to which detention, prosecution, adjudication and incarceration are applied to persons whose involvement with the criminal justice system could be alleviated by effective substance abuse treatment.This set of recommendations issued in May 2005 includes reforms that intervene at early stages of criminal justice system involvement, relying less extensively on legal sanctions and more on motivating persons to participate in treatment with minimal criminal justice oversight.

This UK study of drug policy was withheld from the public for 2 years.Only half of it was officially released under pressure from media;the second half was leaked days later.The Guardian reported on July 5, 2005, that "The profit margins for major traffickers of heroin into Britain are so high they outstrip luxury goods companies such as Louis Vuitton and Gucci, according to a study that Downing Street is refusing to publish under freedom of information legislation. Only the first half of the strategy unit study led by the former director general of theBBC, Lord Birth, was released last Friday (July 1, 2005).The other half was withheld but has been leaked to the Guardian.It says that the traffickers enjoy such high profits that seizure rates of 60-80% are needed to have any serious impact on the flow of drugs into Britain but nothing greater than 20% has been achieved. The study concludes that the estimated UK annual supply of heroin and cocaine could be transported into the country in five standard-sized shipping containers but has a value which at a conservative estimate tops AUKP4bn."

This report presents State estimates on substance use or mental illness problems from the combined 2002 and 2003National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUHs), formerly called the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA).The report provides estimates for 21 different measures related to substance use or mental illness based on the pooled2002 and 2003 NSDUH data. Methodological changes introduced in 2002 affected respondent participation rates and response patterns, resulting in changes in prevalence estimates. Therefore, the findings from the 2002 and 2003 NSDUHsshould not be compared with results from the 2001 or earlier NHSDAs. The 2002 survey represented a new baseline for the State estimates, as well as for the national estimates.By combining the 2002 and 2003 survey data, the level small area estimates have been improved.

According to this report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the nation's prisons and jails held 2,131,180 inmates as ofJune 30, 2004. Two-thirds were in federal and state prisons, and the other third were in local jails. Jail authorities were supervising an additional 70,548 men and women in the community in work release, weekend reporting, electronic monitoring another alternative programs.

This response and analysis from the Washington Office on Latin America unravels the spin on federal estimates of coca and opium poppy production in South America, and is a response to the ONDCP analysis listed immediately below.

Official US Government estimates for coca and opium production in Colombia and the Andes for 2004.

In this Dec. 2004 issue of WOLA's Drug War Monitor, WOLA analyst John M. Walsh looks at federal estimates of cocaine production, price, purity, and availability. Drug War Monitor is a publication of WOLA's "Drugs, Democracy and Human Rights" project, that examines the impact of drug trafficking and US international drug control policies on human rights and democratization trends throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

Caught in the Net: the Impact of Drug Policies on Women & Families compiles for the first time existing research on the effects of current drug laws and sentencing policies on women and their families. The report is co-authored by the American Civil Liberties Union, Break The Chains, and the Brennan Center for Justice and was launched at a national conference of experts on issues relating to women, families and drugs at NYU School of Law on March 17th and 18th, 2005.

Requesting children and young people to provide urine samples as part of a school-based random drug-testing programme is commonplace within the United States but relatively rare within the United Kingdom. However, in 2004 both the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, and the Leader of the Opposition, Michael Howard, expressed support for such testing as a way of reducing illegal drug use among pupils: this high profile political support may make the practice increasingly common in the UK. This study, by Neil McKeganey,Professor of Drug Misuse Research at Glasgow University, reviews the ethics and practicalities of such testing and considers its likely effectiveness.

In this technical data sheet gender differences are explored inEuropean data from three sources: school surveys (1), general population surveys (2) and drug treatment services (3) in theEuropean Union. These data suggest that gender differences among people using drugs and attending drug treatment services, and the magnitude of these differences, are linked to a number of different factors. Here the impact of national situation, age of drug user and types of drug used on observed differences in patterns of drug consumption is explored in detail. Clearly, other factors are also likely to be important in influencing these mallet female ratios. The EMCDDA will be preparing a more extensive special issue on gender in 2006 as part of its annual reporting exercise.In the European Union men are more likely than women to use illicit drugs.Gender differences in patterns of drug use are often considerable and are reflected in the fact that among the clients of drug treatment services the proportion of women is only around 20%.

GAO conducted a systematic review of drug court program research, from which 27 evaluations of 39 adult drug court programs were selected for evaluation. This report describes the results of that review particularly relating to recidivism outcomes, substance use relapse, program completion, and the costs and benefits of drug court programs.

This study prepared for ONDCP by the RAND Corporation reports on the price and purity of cocaine and heroin from 1981 through the middle of 2003 and is a record of the failure of the US 'drug war' approach.Dated November 2004, this publication was withheld from the public until February 2005, one day following the release of ONDCP's National Drug Control Strategy.

This study reports the opinions of American adults aged 45 and over regarding the medical uses of marijuana. It was made available through AARP's website in early 2005.

Report of NIDA-funded research into effect of marijuana use on blood flow through the brain. Published by the journal Neurology in Feb. 2005.

This study analyzes the effects of an intensive long-term level police intervention on syringe exchange program use in Philadelphia. Published by the American Journal of Public Health inFeb. 2005.

Annual report providing detailed demographic information about the nation's prison population. Issued in Nov. 2004.

This bulletin brings together statistical information on criminal justice collected by the UK Home Office and the Council of Europe. The data covers all the European Union Member States, the EU accession countries and selected other countries, including theUnited States. Issued Oct. 24, 2003.

The World Prison Population List gives details on the number of prisoners held in 205 independent countries and dependent territories. It shows the differences in the level of imprisonment across the world and makes possible an estimate of the world prison population total. Issued in 2003.

Annual report providing detailed demographic information about the nation's prison population. Issued in July 2002.

This report provides data on the tremendous growth in the number of drug offenders being processed by the federal system as well as the average sentence length. Issued in August 2001.

This report, by a committee appointed by Governor Gary Johnson (R)of New Mexico, urges the state to adopt harm reduction policies and to emphasize public health over law enforcement in controlling drug abuse.

This file contains four pages of charts and tables from a UN World Health Organization study which found that US youth have much higher rate of marijuana use than youth in Europe. The full report, "Drinks, Drugs and 16 year olds: New Findings for 30 European Countries Announced; The European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs," was issued Feb. 20, 2001.

Statement of Jess T. Ford, Director, International Affairs and Trade, GAO, Before the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources, Committee on Government Reform, US House of Representatives, Oct. 12. 2000.

Issued Dec. 2000, this analysis prepared by Abt Associates for ONDCP attempts to estimate the number of drug users in the US and how much they spent on illicit drugs.

An excellent two page summary of adolescent drug use and federal efforts to combat the use of illegal drugs by minors.

An depth examination of drug dealing in the city of Milwaukee. It considers the rationality of drug dealing as a survival strategy, provides information on race, income, and other relevant characteristics of drug dealers.

This report tabulates the number of police officers in the United States.

Findings of the National Academy of Sciences and other unbiased sources.

This brief fact sheet compares the Netherlands and the United States on four major social indicators: adolescent marijuana use, homicide, heroin addiction, and drug-law enforcement costs.

This report from the Arizona State Supreme Court analyzes the performance of Arizona's Drug Treatment & Education Fund, which provides for offenders to be put into drug treatment as an alternative to incarceration.

A six page fact sheet compiled by the ONDCP to summarize drug use and control statistics.

This report examines the scope and efficiency of industries operated within prisons and by prison laborers.

Examines the prevalence of drug-related corruption in police forces in the United States.

This report provides information on the number of prisoners in the United States.

This report summarizes data on offenders serving probation or parole in the fifty states and the Federal system.

This report details substance abuse and treatment services and needs imprisons in the Federal and state corrections systems.

This report from the Department of Justice provides demographic information about female offenders in the US justice system.

This report from the Center for Drug Research at the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, details how and where drugs, particularly cannabis, are sold in The Netherlands.

This report from the Center for Drug Research at the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, details the prevalence of drug use among the population of The Netherlands.

This report compares and contrasts European drug laws with those in the United Kingdom.

CEDRO produces a great deal of quality research on drug use in Europe and The Netherlands.

"The World's Largest Online Library of DrugPolicy"

Established in 1989 to conduct the empirical research, policy analysis, and outreach needed to help community leaders and public officials develop more effective strategies for dealing with drug problems.

This is the site for the longest running survey of adolescent/young adult drug use and attitudes about drug use in the United States.

The National Center for Health Statistics prepares a number of reports, including Vital Statistics of the US, Deaths, Hospitalizations for Injury, and Health United States 2000.

The Journal of the American Medical Association is a widely-respected, peer-reviewed medical journal. Some portions are available only to subscribers, however their special forum on HIV-AIDS as well as other sections are open to public use.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the primary source for research data from the US Department of Justice. BJS prepares reports on prisons, probation, parole, drug treatment and testing, crime, etc..

Reviews the effectiveness and costs of DEA and FBI. Specifically designed to assist journalists.