Joseph Califano, former US Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare wrote a book called, “High Society - How Substance Abuse Ravages America and What to Do About It” -- it focused on the reasons why drug rehab and alcohol rehab have become even more necessary in our country in recent years.
Califano also focused on some of the costs to society outside of the costs of drug treatment and alcohol treatment. The amounts may surprise you:
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Each baby born from a mother who drank alcohol or used drugs during pregnancy to the point of having a FAS or FADE baby, could cost up to $4 million in health care and specialized services over the course of a lifetime. The total cost to American taxpayers is estimated to be $1.9 billion/year.
Criminal Justice System Costs: According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), it was estimated that of the $38 billion spent on corrections in 1996, more than $30 billion was spent incarcerating individuals who had alcohol or drug problems or committed alcohol or drug related crimes.
Impaired Employees: In “Employer Costs of Alcohol Related Injuries” (American Journal of Industrial Medicine, Zaloshnja, Miller, Hendrie, and Galvin, Wiley-Liss. Inc., December 22, 2006), the annual employer cost of alcohol-related injuries to employees and their dependents was reported at $28.6 billion.
DWI Costs: Driving While Intoxicated continues as a horrendous problem throughout the country. According to “The High Cost of Drunk Driving” (Russell Weisman, Article Alley, January 5, 2006), the cost to society from D.W.I. in 2001 was estimated at $230 billion tax dollars due to highway DWI collisions.
It's said that every day 1,500 die from alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, this makes the need for drug and alcohol treatment center information and access, more important than ever.
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