Illegal Substances
Knowing what to do starts with knowing what works, and what hasn't. CrimeSolutions helps practitioners and policymakers understand what programs & practices work, are promising, or haven't worked yet.
On this page you can find programs and practices related to Illegal Substances. Select "Search Filters" to narrow down the list by rating, extent of evidence, and many other aspects of the programs or practices. Skip to Practices
CrimeSolutions’ ratings are assigned from standardized reviews of rigorous evaluations and meta-analyses. While we encourage you to learn more about this process, you don’t need to in order to benefit from it. Our clear ratings and profiles can help you determine if a program or category of program is worth pursuing.
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Effective | Implementing the program is likely to result in the intended outcome(s). | On average, there is strong evidence that implementing a program encompassed by the practice will achieve the intended outcome. |
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Promising | Implementing the program may result in the intended outcome(s) | On average, there is some evidence that implementing a program encompassed by the practice will achieve the intended outcome. |
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Ineffective | Implementing the program is unlikely to result in the intended outcome(s) and may result in a negative outcome(s). | On average, there is strong evidence that implementing a program encompassed by the practice will not achieve the intended outcome or may result in a negative outcome. |
Programs
Showing Results For:
Topic: illegal substances| Title | Evidence Rating | Topics | Summary | RCT | ||
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| Program Profile: PROmoting School-Community-University Partnerships to Enhance Resilience (PROSPER) |
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Schools, Marijuana, Alcohol, Substance abuse, Underage drinking, Positive youth development, Juvenile (under 18), Child health and welfare, Methamphetamine, Illegal substances, Drugs | This is a community-based program that was designed to address substance abuse and antisocial behavior. The program is rated Promising. Students in the schools that implemented the PROSPER model had statistically significant fewer conduct problems and lower lifetime illicit substance use, compared with students in control schools. However, there were no statistically significant impacts on driving after drinking alcohol or frequency of drunkenness. Date Posted: |
Randomized Controlled Trial | ||
| Program Profile: Abecedarian Project |
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Home visiting, Positive youth development, Child health and welfare, Juvenile (under 18), Drugs, Substance abuse, Cocaine, Illegal substances | This was an early education intervention designed to improve cognitive and educational development among low-income children. The program is rated Promising. The treatment group showed a statistically significant greater likelihood of being enrolled in college and having held skilled employment, a lower likelihood of being a teen parent, and fewer depressive symptoms, compared with the control group. However, there were no statistically significant differences in incarceration or drug use. Date Posted: |
None | ||
| Program Profile: Random Drug Testing with Immediate Results and Immediate Sanctions |
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Alcohol-Related Offenses, Drug testing, Parole, Cocaine, Heroin, Alcohol, Reentry, Community corrections, Corrections, Crime prevention, Recidivism, Courts, Illegal substances, Opioids | This program was an experiment that was conducted to examine the efficacy of alternative methods of instant drug testing, and to determine how the different methods affected rates of relapse and recidivism of parolees with substance abuse issues. The program is rated Promising. The treatment group experienced a statistically significant decrease in rates of relapse, but no statistically significant difference in recidivism, compared with the control group. Date Posted: |
Randomized Controlled Trial | ||
| Program Profile: Lions Quest Skills for Adolescence (SFA) |
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Schools, Cocaine, Marijuana, Alcohol, Substance abuse, Underage drinking, School climate, Drug abuse prevention and education, Drugs, Illegal substances, Legal substances | This is a school-based life skills training curriculum for middle-school students aimed at reducing drug and alcohol use. The program is rated No Effects. There were statistically significant effects on past-30-day marijuana use and on marijuana- and alcohol-refusal skills for treatment group students, compared with control group students, but no statistically significant impacts on past-30-day alcohol, cigarette, or other illicit substances use and in cigarette- and cocaine-refusal skills. Date Posted: |
Randomized Controlled Trial | ||
| Program Profile: Families Facing the Future |
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Cocaine, Heroin, Marijuana, Alcohol, Substance abuse, Case Management, Crime prevention, Juvenile (under 18), Child health and welfare, Drugs, Illegal substances, Legal substances, Drugs, Opioids | This is an intensive family program combining relapse prevention and parenting skills training. This program is rated No Effects. Treatment group parents demonstrated statistically significantly less heroin use, fewer domestic conflicts, and higher refusal skills than control parents did. There were no statistically significant differences in other drug use by parents, child drug and alcohol use, child delinquency, child-reported negative peers, or child school attachment. Date Posted: |
Randomized Controlled Trial | ||
| Program Profile: New South Wales (Australia) Prison Methadone Maintenance Program |
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Heroin, Corrections, Inmate programs, Recidivism, Crime prevention, Cocaine, Substance abuse, Illegal substances, Drugs, Opioids | This is a prison-based, methadone maintenance program in Australia, which is designed to reduce recidivism, prevent the spread of blood-borne viral infections (HIV and hepatitis) in prison, and encourage continuation of treatment in the community following release. The program is rated No Effects. There were no statistically significant effects on rates of mortality, recidivism, or hepatitis C infections. Date Posted: |
Randomized Controlled Trial | ||
| Program Profile: Multisystemic Therapy - Substance Abuse |
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Cocaine, Marijuana, Alcohol, Mental health, Substance abuse, Underage drinking, Violent offenders, Youth development, Home visiting, Treatment, Young juvenile offenders, Child health and welfare, Juvenile delinquency, Juvenile detention, Courts, Drug courts, Problem-solving courts, Illegal substances, Drugs, Legal substances, Drugs | This version of multisystemic therapy is for adolescents with substance abuse and dependency issues. This program is rated Effective. Treatment youth showed statistically significant reductions in marijuana use and in aggressive behavior and convictions for aggressive behavior, compared with control group youth. However, no significant differences between groups were found for symptoms of mental health, criminal behavior, or alcohol or cocaine use. Date Posted: |
Randomized Controlled Trial | ||
| Program Profile: Project Towards No Drug Abuse (Project TND) |
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Schools, Marijuana, Alcohol, Substance abuse, Underage drinking, Treatment, Drug abuse prevention and education, Drugs, Child health and welfare, Cocaine, Illegal substances, Legal substances, Drug treatment | This is a school-based program designed to prevent substance use. The program is rated No Effects. There were no statistically significant effects on marijuana use, cocaine use, or on prevalence of getting drunk, and mixed effects on tobacco use, alcohol use, and hard drug use. There was a statistically significant improvement for the treatment group in overall substance use and an index of all hard drug use. Date Posted: |
Randomized Controlled Trial | ||
| Program Profile: Nurse-Family Partnership |
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Juvenile health, Mental health, Substance abuse, Underage drinking, Children exposed to violence, Treatment, Home visiting, Intimate partner violence, Crime prevention, Violent crime, Child abuse, Juvenile (under 18), Child health and welfare | This is a home visitation program for low-income, first-time mothers designed to improve family functioning. The program is rated Effective. Treatment families reported statistically significant decreases in child abuse/neglect and domestic violence and improvements in home learning environments, compared with control families. Treatment children reported statistically significant decreases in substance use, compared with control children, but there were no differences in behavior problems. Date Posted: |
Randomized Controlled Trial | ||
| Program Profile: Prison-Initiated Methadone Maintenance Treatment |
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Heroin, Drug testing, Drugs, Crime prevention, Inmate programs, Illegal substances, Cocaine, Opioids | This is a methadone maintenance treatment designed for currently incarcerated individuals with a heroin addiction. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group participants spent a greater number of days in community-based drug treatment following release and improved opioid drug test results, compared with control group participants. These differences were statistically significant. However, there were mixed results regarding cocaine use, criminal activity, and frequency of heroin use. Date Posted: |
Randomized Controlled Trial | ||
| Program Profile: Naltrexone for Persons on Federal Probation |
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Probation, Heroin, Corrections, Community corrections, Illegal substances, Substance abuse, Drugs, Cocaine, Opioids | This is a program that uses medication in the treatment of opioid addiction. The medication works by antagonizing opioid receptors and blocking the effects of opiates, usually heroin, which are consumed by addicts. The program is rated Promising. There were statistically significant reductions in opioid use and reincarceration among the treatment group, compared with the control group. Date Posted: |
None | ||
| Program Profile: Interim Methadone Maintenance (Baltimore, Md.) |
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Heroin, Illegal substances, Drugs, Cocaine, Opioids | This is a daily treatment program for opiate-addicted adults on waiting lists for comprehensive treatment who receive doses of methadone and emergency counseling. The program is rated Promising. Participants reported a statistically significant decrease in heroin use and had lower crime rates, compared with the waitlist control group. However, there was no statistically significant effect on cocaine use. Date Posted: |
Randomized Controlled Trial | ||
| Program Profile: Athletes Training and Learning to Avoid Steroids (ATLAS) |
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Schools, Alcohol, Prescription drugs, Substance abuse, Drug abuse prevention and education, Drugs, Juvenile (under 18), Child health and welfare | This is a multicomponent school-based drug and alcohol prevention program for male high school athletes. The program is rated Promising. The intervention was associated with statistically significant reductions in participants’ intent to use steroids, and statistically significant increases in their knowledge of the negative side effects of steroids and in their ability to refuse steroids and other drugs. Date Posted: |
Randomized Controlled Trial | ||
| Program Profile: TCU Mapping-Enhanced Counseling for Substance Users |
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Cocaine, Heroin, Drug testing, Drugs, Substance abuse, Illegal substances, Opioids | This program consists of a cognitive technique for incorporating graphic visualization tools into the counseling process for substance users. The program is rated Promising. The mapping-enhanced counseling group showed a statistically significant reduction in positive drug tests for opiates and cocaine at the 6-month posttest, compared with the control group. Date Posted: |
Randomized Controlled Trial |
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| Practice Profile: Buprenorphine Maintenance Treatment |
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Heroin, Illegal substances, Substance abuse, Drugs, Opioids | This is a medication-assisted treatment for individuals with opioid dependence. Similar to methadone, buprenorphine works by occupying the opioid receptor and blocking the high that usually comes from illicit opioid drug use; however, buprenorphine exerts a weaker effect at opioid receptor sites because it is a partial agonist. The practice is rated Effective for reducing heroin/opioid use and increasing retention in treatment; however, it is rated No Effects for reducing use of benzodiazepines. Date Posted: |
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| Practice Profile: Methadone Maintenance Therapy |
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Heroin, Inmate assistance programs, Prisons, Inmate programs, Correctional facilities, Drugs, Substance abuse, Illegal substances, Opioids | This practice involves a medication-assisted treatment for individuals with opioid dependence. Methadone is a long-acting synthetic opioid analgesic that works as a pharmacologic intervention to prevent or reverse withdrawal symptoms, reduce opiate cravings, and bring about a biochemical balance in the body in order to reduce the illicit use of opioids. The practice is rated Effective for reducing use of heroin/opioids but rated No Effects for reducing criminal activity and mortality. Date Posted: |
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| Practice Profile: Sobriety Checkpoints |
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Alcohol-Related Offenses, Alcohol, Situational crime prevention, Law enforcement operations, Law enforcement, Traffic laws, Traffic law enforcement, Drugs | Sobriety checkpoints are police operations that aim to reduce the number of alcohol-related car crashes by preventing people from driving under the influence of alcohol and other substances. Driving under the influence (DUI) is prevented by increasing the perceived and actual risk of detection and apprehension by the police. The practice is rated Promising for reducing the number of car crashes. Date Posted: |
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| Practice Profile: Opiate Maintenance Therapy for Persons for Persons Who Use Heroin and Cocaine |
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Cocaine, Heroin, Corrections, Drugs, Inmate programs, Illegal substances, Substance abuse, Opioids | A medication-assisted treatment for opioid dependence, including methadone, buprenorphine, and Levo-Alpha-Acetymethadol (LAAM). The overall goals are to help opioid-addicted patients alleviate withdrawal symptoms, reduce or suppress opiate cravings, and reduce the illicit use of opioids (such as heroin). The practice is rated Effective for achieving higher sustained heroin abstinence for persons who abuse heroin and cocaine abusers, but No Effects for cocaine abstinence. Date Posted: |