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1. Someone is injured, they are prescribed a painkiller, the prescription runs out before the pain does, and they turn to cheaper street drugs.

2. Desperation and a sense of inescapable hopelessness can make a whole lot of people do things they never thought they'd consider doing.

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The article is saying that those unemployed have a higher rate of prescription though, not just illicit use

>Krueger’s study linked county prescription rates to labor force data from the past 15 years

Rather than commenting on the article, my goal is to help the grandparent empathize with how people keep falling into such a seemingly obvious trap. If we can't understand why people keep resorting to these behaviors--if we find their motivations entirely alien--then that precludes the ability to take the steps necessary to help these people, or prevent the same from befalling others (and possibly ourselves).

That kind of makes sense, though. You probably can't keep up with healthy people if you're in pain bad enough to require opioids.

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