Drug Addiction is Treatable, Yet Less than 3% of Federal and State Funds Are Allocated to Treatment

Drug addiction: a scourge that destroys individuals, families, companies, societies.

"Drug addiction is something that affects averyone," comments Mary Rieser, Executive Director for Narconon Drug Rehab, Atlanta Recovery Center. "Drug addiction  is a primary problem in schools, in the workplace and at home. Like the proverbial six degrees of seperation, everyone knows someone who has a drug or alcohol problem. Why does so much money, almost a third of a trillion dollars, get spent on incarceration, family services, etc, and so little gets spent on actual drug rehab?"

In 2005 federal and state governments spent more than $373 billion on tobacco, alcohol, and prescription and illegal drug abuse, according to the first comprehensive analysis of substance abuse spending across all levels of government.

Only 2.4% was spent on prevention and treatment programs or substance abuse-related research, despite a “large and growing body of scientific evidence that substance usedisorders are diseases for which effective treatments exist”. In contrast, nearly all (95.6%) of substance abuse spending—an estimated $357.4 billion—paid for the increased costs associated with substance abuse and addition on public programs such as health care, justice, child and family assistance, and education. (see figure below).

The authors recommend that governments make more cost-effective investments in 1) prevention and early intervention; 2) treatment and disease management; 3) tax and regulatory policies; and 4) expanded research.

"We need to let our legislators know that this waste of tax dollars is not acceptable, and while there are effective drug rehab solutions, the concentration of money being spent deals with punishment and incarceration instead of effective rehab," comments Ms. Rieser.

Source: CESARFAX, University of Maryland, College Park

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For more information on drug rehabilitation, or drug education, call Narconon Drug Rehab of Georgia, Atlanta Recovery Center at 1-877-413-3073.