Theft, Opioid Pills, Unemployment, and Insurance: A Longitudinal Analysis of American Counties in the Wake of the Opioids Crisis

• DOI: 10.1177/0022042621998690
• Published date: 01 July 2021
• Author: Leanne M. Confer,Paul Hemez,John H. Boman,Thomas J. Mowen,Cori Pryor
• Date: 01 July 2021
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0022042621998690

Journal of Drug Issues

2021, Vol. 51(3) 504 –517

© The Author(s) 2021

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/0022042621998690

journals.sagepub.com/home/jod

Article

Theft, Opioid Pills, Unemployment,

and Insurance: A Longitudinal

Analysis of American Counties in

the Wake of the Opioids Crisis

Leanne M. Confer1, John H. Boman, IV1, Cori Pryor1,

Thomas J. Mowen1, and Paul Hemez1

Abstract

This study examines the relationships between prescription opioid pills, unemployment, health

insurance, and theft. Covering the years 2006–2012, our data are an aggregate of information from

the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Incident-

Based Reporting System, and the American Community Survey (ACS). The unit of analysis is

time nested within counties. Preliminary results demonstrate that there were approximately

46 prescription opioid pills distributed per person annually in the United States between 2006

and 2012. Multivariate results reveal that counties with higher numbers of prescription opioid

pills tend to experience significantly higher patterns of theft. Interestingly, health insurance

is positively associated with theft while unemployment appears to protect against theft. The

relationship between pills and theft is also conditioned by both unemployment and health

insurance. Future research should explore these relationships to better inform efforts at making

responsible social policy in the midst of the opioids crisis.

Keywords

opioid pills, theft, larceny, unemployment, health insurance

Introduction

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2020), there was a steady

rise in opioid prescriptions at both the state and county levels between 2006 and 2012. Following

the peak of 81.3 prescriptions per 100 people in 2012 (CDC, 2020), a decline in prescriptions

reduced the national average to approximately 51 prescriptions per 100 people in 2018 (CDC,

2020). Despite this reduction in prescriptions being substantial, the most immediately noticeable

observation from these facts is that American physicians continue to prescribe opioid pills at a

substantial frequency to the American public. However, the problem with opioid pills extends far

beyond the medical profession. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, only

about 22% of all opioid use in the United States occurs as directed under the supervision of a

medical professional and over half (~51%) of all opioid use in the United States occurs as a result

of people using opioid pills (Lipari & Hughes, 2017). Research also has established that many

1Bowling Green State University, OH, USA

Corresponding Author:

Leanne M. Confer, Graduate Student, Department of Sociology, Bowling Green State University, Williams Hall 240,

Bowling Green, OH 43403, USA.

Email: lconfer@bgsu.edu

998690JODXXX10.1177/0022042621998690Journal of Drug IssuesConfer et al.

research-article2021