Narconon of Georgia  

Perhaps the unspoken idea behind this massive spending on everything related to addiction, but not addiction itself is that drug rehab doesn’t work.

It is true that we need to garner our resources during these economical times and be smart about where we spend our money – ensuring that there is a return on the investment.  Effective drug treatment is the obvious best possible investment as all the other related problems would go away.

Studies regarding what methods of alcohol and drug treatment work should be done before large amounts of money are doled out for treatment.  Some programs work and some don’t.  Investing in programs that don’t work will foster the idea that drug treatment does not work and continue the dark ages of prison and human suffering.

Whether a person is abusing heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, pot or any other substance, there is drug rehab available that can work.

Narconon 877-413-3073

“The vast majority of the estimated $467.7 billion in substance-abuse related spending by governments on substance-abuse problems went to deal with the consequences of alcohol, tobacco and other drug use, not treatment and prevention, according to a new report from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.

The report, titled, "Shoveling Up II: The Impact of Substance Abuse on Federal, State and Local Budgets," found that 95 percent of the $373.9 billion spent by the federal government and states went to paying for the societal and personal damage caused by alcohol and other drug use; the calculation included crime, health care costs, child abuse, domestic violence, homelessness and other consequences of tobacco, alcohol and illegal and prescription drug abuse and addiction.

Just 1.9 percent went to treatment and prevention, while 0.4 percent was spent on research, 1.4 percent went towards taxation and regulation, and 0.7 percent went to interdiction.

"Such upside-down-cake public policy is unconscionable," said Joseph A. Califano, Jr., CASA's founder and chairman. "It's past time for this fiscal and human waste to end."

CASA estimated that the federal government spent $238.2 billion on substance-abuse related issues in 2005, while states spent $135.8 billion and local governments spent $93.8 billion. The report said that 58 percent of spending was for health care and 13.1 percent on justice systems.

Researchers estimated that 11.2 percent of all federal and state government spending went towards alcohol, tobacco and other drug abuse and addictions and its consequences. The report said that Connecticut spent the most proportionately on prevention, treatment and research -- $10.39 of every $100 spent on addiction issues -- while New Hampshire spent the least -- 22 cents.”

http://www.jointogether.org/news/headlines/inthenews/2009/states-waste-billions-dealing.html