There can be some possibility that the cases of more deaths due to opioid overdoses are linked with stimulus checks. However, this topic is such that it will not be easily acknowledged by an attorney general. A study was held by Attorney General of Ohio, Dave Yost, dealing with Economic Impact Payments in Covid-19 and the deaths by opioids.
The journal will be soon published and as per Yost, there is an evident link between the deaths caused by opioids and the relief money of the pandemic. According to him, though the money was supposed to help the Americans to live properly in the pandemic, it led to more opioid overdoses.
Views Of Other Officials On The Use Of Stimulus Checks
There were reports that Yost was not trying to criticize the decision of Trump to provide stimulus checks. However, many other activists had the view that this rise in opioid overdoses was mainly due to lockdown stress and destruction of the economy due to pandemics.
Moreover, Sydney Silverstein, the assistant professor of the Wright State University stated that it is very hard to blame stimulus checks for the overdoses as there are more relevant reasons like looking at the jobs and being isolated as per the safety precautions in Covid-19. The study received more criticism from experts who said that it is unlikely for an individual to die after receiving a stimulus check. As per Teresa Fedor, an elected official declared Yost’s study as troubling and dangerous and she suggested that Yost be more responsible before claiming such false allegations.
Lastly, she said that it is shameful to say that these checks were used by people to buy more opioids rather than accepting that they helped the working class people during the pandemic.
