What Problems Do Drugs Cause?

By any measure, the emotional, physical and social toll exacted by drug abuse is enormous. Long-term abuse can lead to permanent physical and psychological damage, in which relationships fall by the wayside. Addicts tend to neglect their health, resulting in emergency room and hospital admissions that impose a major societal cost. The pressure of finding money to feed a habit may also drive addicts into committing crimes, forcing upward spikes in jail and prison confinements, for which taxpayers also foot the bill.

The Price Of Dependency

• The effects of long-term drug dependency are well documented and often difficult to beat without professional help. Hallucinations, psychosis and shakiness are just some of the symptoms attributed to withdrawing from narcotics such as heroin and cocaine while prolonged psychological dependency is the price paid for seemingly less-harmful drugs, such as marijuana or psychedelics. No matter what type of drug is favored, however, multiple treatments are often required before the user can put his addictive lifestyle behind him.

Effects

• Drugs destroy family lives and relationships. Addicted persons are often found to be unfit parents who may lose custody of their children or require attention from the court system. Domestic abuse and lack of self-control add up to chaos in the home, as well. As the drug user becomes increasingly hardened in her behavior, family members may withdraw their support and cut off social ties altogether.

Drug Abuse And Crime

• Legalization debates aside, long-term addiction to alcohol, amphetamines, narcotics and opiates leads to a population that only cares about its next dose. There is a demonstrable link between drug use and illegal behavior since buying or possessing drugs is illegal. Statistics compiled by the U.S. Justice showed that, in 2004, 17 percent of state prisoners and 18 percent of federal inmates cited the need to support a habit as the motivation for their offenses. Persons who deal drugs are also more likely to die violently, according to the FBI, whose 2007 Uniform Crime Report identified 3.9 percent of the year's 14,831 homicides as narcotics-related.

Drugs And The Workplace

• Lack of trust is a tangible cost to society, especially in the workplace. The U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration estimated that 74.8 percent of illegal drug users age 18 and over either held a full- or a part-time job in 2005. Additional research by the agency showed that roughly 10 to 20 percent of American workers who died on the job tested positive for alcohol or other drugs. The escalating demand for drug testing in more-sensitive jobs such as teaching and transportation is a direct reflection of this phenomenon. These figures do not take into account the costs of absenteeism and lost productivity, which represent further costly headaches for employers.

Treatment Costs

• The bottom-line costs of treating drug abuse are colossal. A Drug Awareness Warning Network study estimated that, in 2005, roughly one-third of emergency room admissions in the United States involved drug abuse or misuse. The organization also expressed concern about rising rates of prescription and over-the-counter drug abuse, which accounted for an additional 559,542 ER visits that year. Users may also be uninsured for lengthy periods of time, effectively passing emergency-treatment costs for overdoses and related conditions on to the taxpayer.

Problem/Solution

• Criminologists differ sharply on the most-effective ways to combat drug abuse, but most experts agree that a purely punitive approach will not, by itself, yield dividends. Many cities and rural counties hit hard by spiraling substance abuse problems are experimenting with special drug courts that allow offenders to escape the stigma of a felony conviction if they enroll in treatment programs. Many states are also experimenting with deferred sentencing, which gives offenders the same opportunity, in exchange for being closely supervised by the court.