Research Library

Legalizing recreational marijuana was intended to remedy the racially disparate effects of cannabis prohibition. But new research from our experts finds persistent racial disparities in the legal system’s practice of mandating treatment for cannabis use.

Baker Institute Rice faculty scholar Luz M. Garcini and co-authors analyze existing research on the compounded stressors and health risks faced by undocumented Latino older adults in the United States. Using a Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) lens, they examine the environments, conditions, and social structures that influence health risks, and provide policy and advocacy recommendations to address the issues.

In this report, the authors outline the U.S. federal budget process for scientific R&D, discuss trends in federal R&D funding and provide an outlook for federal scientific R&D funding during the Biden administration.

The authors examine recent trends in vaping, research on its effectiveness for smoking cessation, the role of industry marketing and policy responses to increased use.

The authors examine the varied approaches used by the U.S. and Iran during the ongoing nuclear negotiations, with particular emphasis on how each side approaches the Israeli-Palestinian arena and Iran’s entrenchment in Syria and Lebanon.

In recent years public opinion surveys have found that a consistent and increasing percentage of Texans support marijuana reform, but this support has not translated into policy change. The authors explain why it should.

By providing regulated and safe access to medical cannabis to people with demonstrated need, the Texas Legislature can provide justified relief, help reduce the opioid epidemic, and save Texas millions of dollars, write the authors.

Lauded as “The Pastor to the Presidents,” the late evangelist Billy Graham met with or gave counsel to every sitting commander-in-chief from Truman to Trump. This report, drawn from the author's book "A Prophet with Honor: The Billy Graham Story" (William Morrow, 1991; updated edition, Zondervan, 2019), provides insight on their relationships.

The director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) plays a central role in advising the president on the impact of science and technology on domestic and global affairs, and on federal funding of scientific research. This paper provides recommendations for the next president to consider when choosing a science advisor and establishing science and technology policy priorities. The project also offers guidance to the next science advisor for developing effective policy while serving in the White House. The recommendations are based on lessons learned from past presidential science advisors as well as feedback from more than 60 reviewers, including individuals who currently serve or have served the OSTP, the President’s Council of Advisors for Science and Technology, federal agencies, Congress or congressional staff, and nongovernmental organizations as well as policy scholars.

The core strategies of the U.S. War on Drugs are eradication, interdiction and incarceration. After a 40-year and trillion-dollar effort, illicit drugs remain available to meet a remarkably stable demand. Drawing on decades of government-gathered and publicly available data, William Martin, director of the Drug Policy Program, and contributing expert Jerry Epstein contend that U.S. drug policy is premised on incorrect assumptions, aims at the wrong targets and can never succeed. But because these data run counter to a century of anti-drug propaganda, they play only a small role in public policy, mass-media presentation and popular perception. In this policy report, Martin and Epstein call for a reexamination of the data and sweeping revision of existing strategies. They urge formation of a politically independent national scientific commission, its members chosen by the National Academy of Sciences, in consultation with the NIH and the Department of Health and Human Services, to facilitate open examination and honest consideration of alternatives to current failed or flawed policies.