Research Leads:

Dr Andres Roman-Urrestarazu

Dr Justin Yang

Substance Use and Drug Policy

We have developed a research program in the Department of Psychiatry at Cambridge, influenced by Dr Andres Roman-Urrestarazu and Dr. Justin Yang's work and the broader agenda of the Mental Health | Policy | Economics Group, following their work in the following topics:

  • Social and Economic Epidemiology of Substance Use Disorders: Building on previous work, the program focus is on the prevalence of substance use and treatment needs across various subpopulations. This includes understanding health disparities related to substance misuse and developing targeted interventions​​.

  • Policy Analysis and Global Drug Regulation: Leveraging the group's work on global policy options, our research analyze drug policies across different countries. This includes studies like the mapping of Novel Psychoactive Substances policy in the EU and examining the impact of socio-political events like Brexit on drug policies​​​​.

  • Public Health Aspects of Substance Use: The program include also research on public health aspects of substance use, such as opioid prescription patterns and their global implications, and the demographic and socioeconomic correlates of unmet needs for mental health treatment​​​​.

  • Treatment Patterns and Access to Care for Substance Use Disorders: We are also investigating treatment patterns for opioid use disorders and factors influencing access to treatment, including a focus on how economic and social factors impact the receipt and timing of treatment for substance use disorders​​.

  • Impact of Economic Factors on Substance Use: Expanding on our work on the global financial crisis, research we explore how economic downturns and financial stressors affect binge alcohol and substance use patterns across different populations​​.

The main objective of this research program is to provide comprehensive insights into the complex interplay between substance misuse, public health, policy, and socio-economic, contributing to informed policy-making and effective public mental health strategies.