Research Library

Taking a health-based approach toward curbing the rising use of synthetic cannabinoids, which has caused dangerous and sometimes fatal side effects in extreme cases, may be a more effective policy for the City of Houston, postdoctoral fellow Katharine A. Neill writes in this report.

The author analyzes the major claims and implications of the Surgeon General's report "Facing Addiction in America," and proposes additional drug policy considerations for addressing substance use disorders.

High cancer drug prices significantly contribute to health care costs in the United States, with the average annual price of new cancer drugs increasing from less than $10,000 before 2000 to $145,000 in 2015. Baker Institute fellows Hagop M. Kantarjian and Vivian Ho highlight this issue and propose possible solutions.

This compilation of briefs addresses a range of issues the new administration will face in the coming years.  “It is our hope that these Baker Institute studies will prove to be useful starting points for the new administration to develop comprehensive, forward-looking solutions," said Baker Institute Director Edward Djerejian.

The United States has a unique opportunity to reduce the spread of disease by engaging the leaders of the G20 countries and targeting neglected diseases. Fellow Peter Hotez explains how.

Criminal extortion is on the rise in Mexico, particularly along the northern border states. Author Gary Hale shows how this trend has fueled government corruption, with officials implicitly or explicitly aiding organized crime groups as they extort businesses and citizens.

This policy brief analyzes the impact of the increasing number of parents who opt their children out of school-entry vaccinations for nonmedical reasons in Texas and argues that the state should make obtaining nonmedical exemptions more rigorous in order to reduce the public health risks and costs associated with vaccine-preventable diseases.

This issue brief offers insights into the evolution and future of Mexico's Comprehensive Plan for the Southern Border to stem migration flows from Central America.

This issue brief examines how globalization has aided the spread of transnational organized crime and the challenges to combating it.

State "right to try" laws can give terminally ill patients early access to experimental drugs and medical devices — but they arguably make safety and efficacy secondary to speedy access.