What Is the Long-Term Cost of Drug Addiction?
Drug addiction, like alcoholism, can have a significant, long-lasting impact on an individual’s physical, emotional, and financial well-being. Drug addiction costs can be substantial. For example, chronic drug use can result in various health problems, including heart disease, lung disease, liver damage, and neurological damage. These health issues may require ongoing medical treatment, severely impacting the quality of life.
It’s estimated that the yearly economic cost of substance abuse for illicit drug usage is $193 billion, with per-person hospital expenses reaching $2,783 in 2016 for the 3.5 million people struggling with drug use problems.
The financial toll of addiction can be equally devastating, as individuals may spend a significant amount of money on drugs. This can lead to financial issues such as debt, bankruptcy, and poverty. For example, the average cost of 100 tablets of Vicodin® is around $126 with insurance, but the same tablet costs $5 on the open market or $500 for a bottle of 100. This high cost may drive some individuals to seek less expensive alternatives such as heroin and fentanyl.
Legal problems can also arise from addiction. Treatment is often more cost-effective than incarceration, with a full year of methadone maintenance therapy typically costing $4,700 per patient, compared to a full year of incarceration, costing up to $24,000 per person.
Substance abuse can also strain relationships with family members, friends, and romantic partners, leading to isolation and loneliness. Often, the substance abuser’s partner experiences the majority of the burden.
Lastly, mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and psychosis can be worsened by or attributed to drug addiction. These challenges can be difficult to manage and significantly impact an individual’s quality of life. In fact, mental health and substance use disorders caused the largest disease burden in the United States in 2015.