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The Economic Cost Of The Opioid Crisis

07:33
In this June 17, 2016 file photo, Erika Marble visits the gravesite of Edward Martin III, her fiancé and father of her two children, in Littleton, N.H. The 28-year old died Nov. 30, 2014, from an overdose of the opioid fentanyl. (Jim Cole/AP)
In this June 17, 2016 file photo, Erika Marble visits the gravesite of Edward Martin III, her fiancé and father of her two children, in Littleton, N.H. The 28-year old died Nov. 30, 2014, from an overdose of the opioid fentanyl. (Jim Cole/AP)

New research out Wednesday puts a dollar value on how much the opioid epidemic is costing the Massachusetts economy.

The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation estimates the state loses more than $2.5 billion a year in business productivity, and an additional $5.9 billion to people who couldn't work because of opioid addiction.

The study found that almost 33,000 people could not work in the last seven years because of addiction — which is a major problem when the job market is tight.

Guests

Julie Burns, executive director of RIZE Massachusetts.

J.J. Bartlett, president of Fishing Partnership Support Services. He tweets @jbart727.

This segment aired on November 14, 2018.

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