AU psychology Opioid Crisis and Violent Crimes Debate Discussion

Prior to beginning work on this discussion,

Read Chapter 9 in your textbook (Located in attachments below) Reference: DeLisi, M., Schwartz, S., & Klein, E. (2020). Criminal psychology (2nd ed.). Zovio.

Read the webpage articles:  

Siegel, E., & Starts With a Bang. (2018, March 20). Opioid epidemic so dangerous, says CDC, it’s finally killing as many Americans as guns

Lopez, G. (2018, February 6). Why the opioid epidemic may have fueled America’s murder spike: A researcher explains the potential link between the two crisesLinks to an external site.. Vox. https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/2/6/16934054/opioid-epidemic-murder-violent-crime#

Watch the video: Warning: This Drug May Kill YouLinks to an external site..

The opioid crisis has become a controversial issue that is becoming harder to ignore. In the context of the relationship between psychology and criminal behavior, substance abuse is one of the leading risk factors for criminal behavior. Therefore, criminal psychologists, public health professionals, and the community-at-large are examining the implications of the crisis, the most crucial of which appears to be a relationship between homicide and violent crime rates and opioid abuse.

For this discussion, conduct additional research on the opioid crisis using information from the textbook, article links provided and other credible sources to ensure you are aware of the latest issues in the opioid crisis national debate. Then, briefly debate the issue with your classmates.

Debate the issue below:

Physicians are responsible and have caused the opioid crisis by overprescribing pain medications that are highly addictive.

Remember to provide your insight into whether rising violent crime rates stems from the opioid crisis as asserted in your assigned readings.