@TechReport{iza:izadps:dp17192,
            	author={Ahammer, Alexander and Packham, Analisa},
            	title={Supply-Side Drug Policy, Polydrug Use, and the Economic Effects of Withdrawal Symptoms},
            	year={2024},
	month={Aug},
            	institution={Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)},
            	address={Bonn},
            	type={IZA Discussion Paper},
            	number={17192},
            	url={https://www.iza.org/index.php/publications/dp17192},
	abstract={Despite the fact that 30 percent of opioid overdoses also involve a benzodiazepine, there is little policy guidance on how to curb concurrent misuse and even less evidence on how changes to co-prescribing practices can affect patients' economic trajectories. In 2012, Austria restricted access to flunitrazepam, one of the most potent, and most heavily misused, benzodiazepines. We use linked individual-level data to identify opioid users and estimate the reform's impact on their health and labor market outcomes relative to a randomly selected comparison group of non-opioid users. Estimates indicate a 12.7 percent drop in employment, a 13.1 percent increase in unemployment insurance claims, and a 26.5 percent increase in overall healthcare expenditures. We provide suggestive evidence that these effects are due to incapacitating withdrawal symptoms, rather than substitution to other drugs, including heroin or alcohol.},
	keywords={opioids;substance use disorder treatment;benzodiazepines},
            }