Drug Abuse Cost

The Economic Costs of Drug Abuse in the United States 1992–2002
Office of National Drug Control Policy
Executive Summary
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/economic_costs/e_summary.pdf

This Author has some difficulties with this form of reportage. It is technically accurate, but the methodology tends to be of self-serving design. It still provides some grasp of the Problem Cost. A primary defect arrives in non-provision of the actual Costs of Drug purchase in the consumption of the illicit Drugs. The provided Estimates have been maximized as official policy, so real Probability values remain low; but it is all We can get.

The economic cost of drug abuse in 2002 was estimated at $180.9 billion. This value represents both the use of resources to address health and crime consequences as well as the loss of potential productivity from disability, death and withdrawal from the legitimate workforce.

The Study estimates $128.6 billion of lost productivity in 2002. The Estimate is somewhat ridiculous as Drug-Users possess relatively little of the Puritan Work Ethic, and would have transferred to legal Abuse such as Alcohol. Reality states the real loss to be within 50-60% of the registered Estimate.

Over 11 percent of arrests in the US are for drug offenses. In addition, appreciable fractions of income generating crimes are attributed to drug abuse: on the order of a quarter of burglaries, personal larcenies and robberies. Many studies have found that in excess of half of all arrestees and prisoners charged or convicted for such offenses are users of illicit drugs

The Study attributes $107.8 billion of the Cost(60%) comes from the commission of crime. The loss of Prisoner productivity is over-inflated, for the reasons mentioned above. The criminal justice system were still be present without Drug crimes, as would the Police concentration on the streets; therefore, Other Costs could be cut in half as the Costs of law enforcement would still be present, though overstaffing and Prison and Jail facilities do add Cost because of Drug-related crime.

The Executive Summary should be read, though, because of the insight given(even if you cannot read the entire Report due to the Time constraint like this Author). lgl