A study released Thursday by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost links COVID-19 stimulus checks to increases in deaths caused by opioid overdoses across the country. The study, which Yost said in a news release had been peer-reviewed and accepted for publication by the International Journal of Drug Policy in April, used data from the Ohio Department of Health. “The link between pandemic relief money and opioid overdose deaths is now evident,” Yost said. “The intent was to help Americans navigate this deadly pandemic but it also fueled a tidal wave of overdoses.” The data, Yost said, showed spikes in opioid-related overdose deaths during the second quarter of 2020 coincided with the delivery of federal stimulus checks. More Ohioans died of opioid overdoses in the second quarter of 2020 than at any point since 2010, Yost said. However, the report concluded the spike in deaths could be a result of many …