The personal toll of the opioid epidemic is well chronicled. Now, a Beacon Hill think tank has produced a report on the economic impact.
The study from the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation puts the cost to the state’s economy at $7 billion in lost business productivity.
The report concludes the opioid crisis is far from over and is likely to get worse, as more lethal synthetic drugs such as fentanyl proliferate.
The foundation is hosting a forum Friday in Boston on the opioid epidemic. Governor Charlie Baker and Attorney General Maura Healey are scheduled to participate.
WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill spoke with taxpayers foundation president Eileen McAnneny.