Opioids have quadrupled the number of unintentional drug overdose deaths since 1999 and are now among the leading causes of death in the United States. Though some reform has recently occurred, the United States continues to operate largely under a punitive criminal justice model despite unsuccessful legislative schemes and voluminous research stemming from a previous war on drugs. This thesis serves to explore the history and extent of opioids in the United States and to analyze salient catalysts responsible for creating an epidemic of abuse. While private and governmental coalitions have formed to develop successful interventions and treatments, they are drastically underfunded. Beginning in the early 2000s, there have been a number of civil and criminal lawsuits against manufacturers, distributors, and prescribers of opioids, with the hope of curbing overdose deaths and disrupt the illicit opioid market.
","abstract_html":"<p>Opioids have quadrupled the number of unintentional drug overdose deaths since 1999 and are now among the leading causes of death in the United States. Though some reform has recently occurred, the United States continues to operate largely under a punitive criminal justice model despite unsuccessful legislative schemes and voluminous research stemming from a previous war on drugs. This thesis serves to explore the history and extent of opioids in the United States and to analyze salient catalysts responsible for creating an epidemic of abuse. While private and governmental coalitions have formed to develop successful interventions and treatments, they are drastically underfunded. Beginning in the early 2000s, there have been a number of civil and criminal lawsuits against manufacturers, distributors, and prescribers of opioids, with the hope of curbing overdose deaths and disrupt the illicit opioid market.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Pellerin, James"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Peter Wood, Ph.D","Brian Sellers, Ph.D","Grigoris Argeros, Ph.D"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2018,"date_issued":"2018-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2018-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:33Z","subjects":["opioid","epidemic","Sackler family","Perdue Pharma","OxyContin®","pain scale","opioid intervention","opioid treatment","opioid legislation","opioid litigation","Criminology","Sociology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/990","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Peter Wood, Ph.D","Brian Sellers, Ph.D","Grigoris Argeros, Ph.D"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Pellerin, James"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2020-02-26T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["opioid","epidemic","Sackler family","Perdue Pharma","OxyContin®","pain scale","opioid intervention","opioid treatment","opioid legislation","opioid litigation","Criminology","Sociology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/990"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Opioids have quadrupled the number of unintentional drug overdose deaths since 1999 and are now among the leading causes of death in the United States. Though some reform has recently occurred, the United States continues to operate largely under a punitive criminal justice model despite unsuccessful legislative schemes and voluminous research stemming from a previous war on drugs. This thesis serves to explore the history and extent of opioids in the United States and to analyze salient catalysts responsible for creating an epidemic of abuse. While private and governmental coalitions have formed to develop successful interventions and treatments, they are drastically underfunded. Beginning in the early 2000s, there have been a number of civil and criminal lawsuits against manufacturers, distributors, and prescribers of opioids, with the hope of curbing overdose deaths and disrupt the illicit opioid market.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Opioid use and abuse in the United States"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Peter Wood, Ph.D","Brian Sellers, Ph.D","Grigoris Argeros, Ph.D"],"dc:creator":["Pellerin, James"],"dc:date.available":["2020-02-26T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Opioids have quadrupled the number of unintentional drug overdose deaths since 1999 and are now among the leading causes of death in the United States. Though some reform has recently occurred, the United States continues to operate largely under a punitive criminal justice model despite unsuccessful legislative schemes and voluminous research stemming from a previous war on drugs. This thesis serves to explore the history and extent of opioids in the United States and to analyze salient catalysts responsible for creating an epidemic of abuse. While private and governmental coalitions have formed to develop successful interventions and treatments, they are drastically underfunded. Beginning in the early 2000s, there have been a number of civil and criminal lawsuits against manufacturers, distributors, and prescribers of opioids, with the hope of curbing overdose deaths and disrupt the illicit opioid market.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/990"],"dc:subject":["opioid","epidemic","Sackler family","Perdue Pharma","OxyContin®","pain scale","opioid intervention","opioid treatment","opioid legislation","opioid litigation","Criminology","Sociology"],"dc:title":["Opioid use and abuse in the United States"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:33Z"}