For my data story project, I researched the correlation between the national opioid crisis and the general public’s search trends regarding key words related to the crisis. I wanted to see if the influx of searches could directly correlate to the rise of opioid use in America. Using Google Trends, I saw gradual rises in the searches for prescription painkillers and other prescribed drugs, and a decline in searches for street drugs.
While this does not explicitly say that more and more people are using these drugs, it does imply that the general public is becoming more aware of these drugs. While this increase in visibility may lead to more addictions, it will also lead to more discussion to remedy this national crisis.
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