What are the costs of drug abuse to society?
Drug abuse costs the United States economy over $700 billion dollars annually in increased health care costs, crime, and lost productivity, broken down as follows by type of drug:
Illicit drug abuse: $193B - . www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/pubs44/44849/44849p.pdf (PDF, 8MB)
Alcohol abuse: $224B - www.cdc.gov/features/alcoholconsumption
Tobacco: $295B - www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/reports/50-years-of-progress/full-report.pdf (PDF, 38MB)
Economic impact is only one facet of drug-related costs to society, which include:
the spread of infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C either through sharing of drug paraphernalia or unprotected sex;
deaths due to overdose or other complications from drug use;
effects on unborn children of pregnant drug users; and
other effects such as crime, unemployment, domestic abuse, family dissolution, and homelessness.