The Shocking Cost of the Opiate Epidemic Could Cripple the Economy

Images depicting the high cost of opiate addiction — The High Cost Of Opiate Addiction

As the United States continues to struggle with the nation’s most dire opioid crisis, Americans everywhere become more aware of the problem. However, what most don’t understand about drug abuse in 21st century America is the sheer cost of the problem. In truth, the U.S. spends hundreds of billions of dollars every year to combat its drug problem.

Towards the end of 2017, the White House released a fiscal report on the economic price tag of opioid abuse. According to the report, the opioid epidemic cost the U.S. five-hundred billion dollars just in 2015, far exceeding the costs of all other drug issues combined. The document suggested that much of the economic cost of opioids was directly connected to the abuse of opioid pharmaceuticals. In fact, the document suggests that the economic uptick in the costs of pharmaceutical opioid abuse were six times greater than they were in 2013.

The Economic Consequences of Nationwide Addiction

There are multiple factors to consider when tallying the economic toll of opioid substance abuse:

There is an economic cost in the premature deaths of those who overdose on opioids and lose their lives before their time. When a working-class adult dies from an opioid overdose in their twenties or thirties, the nation loses hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost production. That is one less working-class adult who won’t be able to work to the full extent of their careers. Furthermore, with unemployment already as low as it is, it can be difficult and time-consuming to replace such a worker. The White House estimates that such costs all together range over four-hundred billion dollars.

Police Officer Guarding City — Police Officer On Guard In City

There is also an economic cost in law enforcement expenditures. It costs billions of dollars to run border control to prevent drugs from being smuggled into the U.S. It costs billions of dollars to run thousands of law enforcement offices across all fifty states. It also costs billions of dollars to house the two million prisoners the U.S. has locked away, more than half of which are in jail for drug-related crimes. The White House estimates that such costs all together range over twenty-nine billion dollars.

There is a severe economic effect that comes from the health crisis of addiction. Hospital bills, ongoing care, remedial care, and behavioral rehabilitation all carry high price tags. To treat just one opiate addict at a hospital for an overdose could cost ten to twenty-five thousand dollars, and treating just one opiate addict at a behavioral rehabilitation center could incur an expense of twenty to forty-thousand dollars or more. The White House estimates that such costs all together range over twenty-one billion dollars.

Pharmaceutical Opioid Abuse in the Millions

According to White House research and literature, the above three cost areas have grown so considerable simply because so many Americans are addicted to pharmaceutical opioid pain relievers. Documents indicate that more than two million Americans have an opiate pill addiction. However, other third-party studies indicate that opioid addicts likely number over ten million all in all.

In 2015, more than thirty-three thousand Americans died from opioid overdoses. In 2016, almost forty-thousand died from opioid overdoses. The spike in overdoses from 2014 brought on a two-year slump in the average American life expectancy, resulting in millions of life-years lost.

While most Americans know we are in the middle of a serious opiate crisis, most don’t know the sheer width and breadth of the problem. The above information sheds light on it, but even that is only a glimpse. We need to raise awareness for this problem and make sure that people understand it better. If they do, we can all take action to address it.

Sources:

The Shocking Cost of the Opiate Epidemic Could Cripple the Economy

The Economic Consequences of Nationwide Addiction

Pharmaceutical Opioid Abuse in the Millions

NARCONON ARROWHEAD

DRUG EDUCATION AND REHABILITATION

THE NARCONON PROGRAM

OUR HISTORY.
OUR TECHNOLOGY

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

ABOUT NARCONON ARROWHEAD

The Shocking Cost of the Opiate Epidemic Could Cripple the Economy

The Economic Consequences of Nationwide Addiction

Pharmaceutical Opioid Abuse in the Millions

DRUG INFORMATION

Isotonitazene Intensifies the Opioid Epidemic

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Why Did Overdoses Drop in 2018 and Why are They on the Rise Again?

NARCONON ARROWHEAD

DRUG EDUCATION AND REHABILITATION

THE NARCONON PROGRAM

OUR HISTORY. OUR TECHNOLOGY

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

ABOUT NARCONON ARROWHEAD

Medically Reviewed / Clinically Reviewed

OUR HISTORY.
OUR TECHNOLOGY