Social and Structural Causes of Opioid Dependence in New York City

Opioid analgesic prescription use has dramatically risen in the United States, resulting in addiction, drug-related crimes, and overdose deaths. In 2010 alone, enough opioids were prescribed by doctors to “medicate every American adult continually for a month”. In New York, Staten Island residents over 45 years of age were most likely to be overprescribed opioid medication by their physician - about a third of all prescription medication written in the borough is an opioid analgesic.