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A new study co-authored by Lawrence P. King, economics, finds that falling incomes and rising incarceration rates at the county level in the U.S. are linked to an increase in drug-related deaths.

A new study co-authored by Lawrence P. King, economics, finds that falling incomes and rising incarceration rates at the county level in the U.S. are linked to an increase in drug-related deaths. The researchers looked at data at the county level from 1983 to 2014. “It’s a strong argument for the medicalization of hard drugs as opposed to criminalization, which actually makes a lot of sense, given that the definition that we use of addiction is continued obsessive-compulsive use of drugs despite the negative consequences,” King says. (WICZ-TV 40 [Binghamton, N.Y.], 7/22/19)