Great Recession and Addiction

The “great recession” that occurred between 2007-2009 affected millions of Americans in a number of ways, such as loss of home and/or employment. It is fair to say that a lot of families are still recovering from the economic downturn that resulted from the collapse of the American housing market. Now that we are over half a decade out from the crisis, researchers can see the true scope of the recession, and the varied effects it had on people.

New research suggests that the economic recession led to rise in substance use disorder rates, The Wall Street Journal reports. The researchers found a link between unemployment and painkiller abuse, especially among those who work in sales and service occupations. They also found that people were more likely to use hallucinogens, as well. The working research paper can be found at National Bureau of Economic Research.

“There is strong evidence that economic downturns lead to increases in substance-use disorders involving hallucinogens and prescription pain relievers,” said authors Christopher Carpenter, an economics professor at Vanderbilt University, et. al. “These effects are robust to a variety of specification choices and are concentrated among prime-age white males with low educational attainment.”

The researchers found that unemployment was linked to heroin use with blue-collar workers, such as those working in:

• Construction
• Maintenance
• Machine Operators
• Transportation
• Armed Forces

“As state budgets contract during economic downturns, drug-treatment funding is particularly vulnerable,” the researchers wrote. “Our findings suggest that such funding cuts, if untargeted, could lead to significant adverse effects on individuals with substance-use disorders.”