Research
Opioid epidemic reaches beyond health impacts to influence politics
Vicky Barone, assistant professor of economics at Notre Dame, researched the origins and development of the opioid epidemic and found that the unregulated marketing of potent painkillers led to increased access to prescription opioids and subsequent overdose mortalities. Tracing the long-term consequences of opioid overdose deaths on the political landscape in America, she found an increased support for conservative beliefs and Republican candidates.