Many impacts at many levels Drugs and Society

How much does it cost? According to the NIDA substance abuse costs the nation a half a trillion dollars each year. That’s $500,000,000,000. According to 2005 statistics, that was about 10% of the budget for federal, state, and local governments combined.

What are some of the costs? Health Care systems Justice System Productivity Environment

Health Care Treatment programs for addiction Emergency Care Overdoses Injuries to users Injuries to others Car accidents Meth lab fires crime

Justice System is burdened at every level Arrests Adjudication Incarceration Post-release supervision Drug courts have alleviated some burden Non-adversarial, coordinated approach

Productivity Premature mortality, illness, injury, and imprisonment all reduce national productivity Around 25,000 deaths a year occur due to drug overdose or poisoning People who enter treatment are incapacitated and exit the labor force Incarceration due to drugs has about 620,000 people out of the work force Drug related unemployment and absenteeism account for lost productivity as well

Environment Environmental impacts are costly as well Methamphetamine production causes most of the damage due to chemicals involved In in California, cleanup of meth labs cost nearly $800,000. There is no nationwide data, but with 50 states, the cost is likely in the tens of millions of dollars range Outdoor cannabis production causes issues due to clear cutting, erosion, watersheds being altered, and chemicals such as pesticides

What to do? Treatment Treatment is costly, but let’s look at it for a moment. Methadone treatment, used to help break addiction to opiates (like heroin) costs $4700 a year per patient. Incarceration for that same person is $24,000 a year. Education Studies show that community prevention programs may save as much as $10 for every $1 spent

Does society influence abuse levels? Family, community, and culture all have an influence. A study of Asian American and European American students showed a significantly lower percentage of alcohol use among the Asian American students Asian family structure tends to be more closely knit Less time spent with peers and more with family Socioeconomic status has influence as well Studies indicate that households with high education and income may put adolescents more at risk for binge drinking and marijuana use They also indicate that households with low education and income put adolescents more at risk for drug use Could be a variety of reasons. For example, low income parents and high income parents may work long hours and have less time to spend with children.

Sources addiction-treatment/frequently-asked-questions/drug-addiction- treatment-worth-its-cost among-children-adolescents/chapter-3-applying-prevention- principles-to-drug-abuse-preven l=pubmed