Opioid Control Policies Can Also Reduce Domestic Violence.

Abstract

Opioid abuse is an issue of serious concern in the United States, and it has been the focus of a multitude of state and federal level policies. Such policies can raise cost versus benefit considerations, which besides direct effects, must also account for potential second-order unintended consequences. We investigate the possibility of an important spillover of effective opioid control policies on reducing domestic violence. To this aim, we exploit the staggered implementation of the Mandatory Access Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs, which required health care providers to consult an electronic database before prescribing and/or dispersing controlled substances. These programs have been shown to be effective at reducing the utilization of prescription opioids. Our analysis suggests that they may have also decreased the instances of intimate partner assaults, driven primarily by a decrease in simple assaults.