Health Data and Policy Related to Methamphetamine-Use Suicide in Mississippi

Author

• Mary C. Drane, University of Mississippi Main CampusFollow

Date of Award

Spring 4-13-2026

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

Public Policy Leadership

First Advisor

Melissa Bass

Second Advisor

Andrew Yockey

Third Advisor

Precious Patrick Edet

Relational Format

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to investigate how methamphetamine use in Mississippi, especially in its rural areas, intersects with public health, policy, and suicide outcomes in the state. Mississippi's methamphetamine crisis has evolved significantly, shifting from locally produced drugs to cartel-supplied crystal methamphetamine, while state and federal policies have struggled to keep pace with the scale and complexity of the problem. Using a convergent parallel mixed-methods design, this research analyzed CDC Wonder multiple causes of death data and SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set Admissions (TEDS-A) data from 2018 to 2024 alongside four qualitative key informant interviews with stakeholders across public health, law enforcement, legislative, and judicial sectors. Quantitative findings revealed that Mississippi's stimulant-implicated self-harm deaths were suppressed by the CDC, indicating fewer than nine recorded deaths between 2018 and 2024, while TEDS-A data captured 14,528 methamphetamine-related treatment admissions from 2018 to 2023, with non-Hispanic White males aged 30 to 34 representing the highest-risk demographic across both datasets. Qualitative interviews identified five key themes: a shifting drug landscape and co-occurring disorders, policy gaps and funding silos, barriers to treatment access, harm reduction as a public health response, and the criminal justice system functioning as a de facto treatment gateway. Together, these findings reveal a crisis that is simultaneously severe and statistically invisible, driven by inadequate data infrastructure, fragmented funding, and the absence of a coordinated state-level policy connecting methamphetamine abuse and suicide. This research concludes that Mississippi must establish a dedicated, integrated surveillance system and invest in comprehensive, evidence-driven public health responses to address the methamphetamine-implicated suicide crisis before further preventable deaths occur.

Comments

Research Question: How does methamphetamine use in Mississippi affect Mississippi policies and the landscape of public health surrounding suicide in the state?

Recommended Citation

Drane, Mary C., "Health Data and Policy Related to Methamphetamine-Use Suicide in Mississippi" (2026). Honors Theses. 3389.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/3389

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.