Opioid Use, Health and Crime: Insights from a Rapid Reduction in Heroin Supply

Timothy Moore and Kevin Schnepel

No 28848, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: In 2001, a large and sustained supply shock halted a heroin epidemic in Australia. We use drug offenses to identify individual opioid users and examine how the shock affected their mortality risks and criminal activity over the next eight years. Initially, gains from fewer overdoses are offset by drug substitution and more crime, including homicides. Most adverse effects dissipate over time, while persistent mortality reductions save the lives of around one in 48 individuals in our sample. Our results demonstrate that reducing the supply of illicit opioids can lead to meaningful longer-term improvements, even when the short-term effects are ambiguous.

JEL-codes: I12 K42 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea and nep-ure
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