A path out: Prescription drug abuse, treatment, and suicide

•We explore the relationship between prescription drug abuse, suicide, and drug abuse treatment.•We establish a theoretical link between drug abuse and suicide, which is mediated by the availability and efficacy of treatment.•We test the empirical predictions of the model, finding that reductions in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of economic behavior & organization 2018-05, Vol.149, p.169-184
Main Authors: Borgschulte, Mark, Corredor-Waldron, Adriana, Marshall, Guillermo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Drug abuse
Drug addiction treatment
PDMP
Prescription drugs
Suicide
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Summary:•We explore the relationship between prescription drug abuse, suicide, and drug abuse treatment.•We establish a theoretical link between drug abuse and suicide, which is mediated by the availability and efficacy of treatment.•We test the empirical predictions of the model, finding that reductions in the supply of prescription drugs can reduce suicides.•The findings point to the importance of considering interactions between supply and demand-side interventions in drug abuse policy. In this paper we investigate the dual role of supply restrictions and drug treatment in combating the concurrent rise of opioid abuse and suicide in the United States over the last two decades. We find that supply-side interventions decrease suicides in places with strong addiction-help networks, implying that prescription drug abuse is associated with an inherent risk of suicide. Our findings support an important role for access to treatment services in policies designed to combat the opioid epidemic.
ISSN:0167-2681
1879-1751
DOI:10.1016/j.jebo.2018.03.006