COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – The Ohio Attorney General said COVID-19 stimulus checks meant to help people during the pandemic may have actually caused harm.
The office of Ohio Attorney General David Yost has released a study that shows a potential connection between those checks and a spike in overdose deaths in 2020.
Yost said the checks aren’t the sole reason for the deaths; other factors including job loss, isolation, and the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic could have all played a factor in addiction.
The study wasn’t about placing blame, Yost said, but to look into how future responses to emergencies, like the pandemic, could have unintended consequences.
Local addiction experts, and the study itself, said more research on the topic needs to be done before conclusions can be reached.