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Essay On Substance Abuse Cost Us

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Substance abuse is defined in several different ways depending on the source. For example, According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, they define drug abuse as a chronic relapsing brain disease. Where a dictionary defines substance abuse as overindulgence in or dependence on an addictive substance, especially alcohol or drugs. Abuse of and addiction to alcohol, nicotine, and illicit and prescription drugs cost Americans more than $700 billion a year in increased health care costs, crime, and lost productivity. The most interesting part, is the DSM (Diagnostic Manual) does not have a diagnostic code for addiction. Now it is referred to as substance use disorder. Substance abuse affects everyone’s life differently. Substance abuse cost us all. It cost us in dollars and it cost us as members of society. You cannot turn on the television or open a newspaper without hearing of some crime that occurred and it is related to substance abuse. It has become a social problem that impacts us all. Individuals with mental illness are at particular high risk for substance abuse issues. I am in my internship now, and I have seen people with depression, …show more content…

It cost us in dollars and it cost us as members of society. When looking at the homeless population, 31% of them suffer from drug, alcoholism or addiction to both. The crime in society is a problem for every one and 60% of adults in Federal Prisons crimes have something to do with drug charges. Children with prenatal cocaine exposure are more likely (1.5 times) to need special education services in school. Special education costs for this population are estimated at $23 million per year. How about missed days at work or loss productivity for companies? In 1997, illicit drug users were more likely than people not using drugs to have missed 2 or more days of work in the past month and to have worked for three or more employers in the past year ("National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA),"

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