Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Opioid abuse has been nationally recognized as an epidemic. In an effort to reduce the rapid increase in prescription opioid abuse, diversion, and mortality, state governments have enacted Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMP) to track all prescribing and dispensing data. In theory, PDMPs should detect misuse and improper prescribing of opioids prior to addiction. The opioid epidemic has disproportionately affected some demographic groups more than others [Case & Deaton, 2015]; however, research on demographic differences resulting from targeted opioid-reduction policies are seldom examined. This paper uses a difference-in-differences approach to estimate the effect of PDMP implementation on admissions into drug treatment facilities for opioid abuse across race, gender, and ethnicity. We find that the implementation of PDMPs significantly decreased the probability of admission into a substance abuse treatment facility for opioid abuse. This finding is not consistent across racial or ethnic lines and is overwhelmingly driven by White individuals, particularly White women.