Too Many Kill Pills and Not Enough Chill Pills: Understanding the Opioid Epidemic

Item

Title

Too Many Kill Pills and Not Enough Chill Pills: Understanding the Opioid Epidemic

Description

The U.S. is in the midst of the worst drug crisis ever reported, with opioid overdoses causing more than half of all drug overdose deaths. This study examines variation in opioid-induced death rates across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as contributing factors. One hypothesis is that states with higher rates of prescriptions for painkillers demonstrate higher opioid mortality rates. Another hypothesis is that states granting legal access to medicinal marijuana exhibit lower death rates. Using 2014 data from reputable sources such as the Centers for Disease Control and the Drug Enforcement Agency, these hypotheses are tested with a regression model that also includes control variables. Preliminary analysis provides support for the first hypothesis. While the second hypothesis is not supported in that the relationship does not reach statistical significance, the scatter plot suggests that a decrease in opioid mortality lags behind the initial legalization.

Therese Seibert

Contributor

Keene State College

Creator

Eugenia Schipelliti

Date

2017-10-11

Identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12088/8116

Subject

Sociology

Type

Presentation

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Item sets

AEC 2017 School of Sciences and Social Sciences

Site pages

School of Sciences and Social Sciences