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Financial Effects of Substance Abuse

Substance abuse can have devastating consequences not only for drug addicts and alcoholics, but also for their friends and family members. And while you cannot place a dollar amount on the psychological, emotional and physical impacts that can result from substance abuse, you can calculate the approximate financial toll that addiction takes, which is often a significant one. As the substance abuse rehabilitation resource Drug Rehabs notes, "Addiction is expensive."

  1. Less Money

    • Regardless of what substance it is that you are abusing, feeding an addiction requires that you set aside money each week, or day, to purchase this substance. According to Drug Rehabs, the only logical outcome that can occur as a result of this behavior is that you will have less money to spend on other items. These items include food, mortgage or rent payments, utilities payments, credit card balances and insurance payments. To put the extent of an addict's money-loss into perspective, Drug Rehabs estimate the typical cocaine-abuser spends nearly $9,000 each month on cocaine.

    Loss of Income

    • Substance abusers, in addition to wasting the money they spend, often end up losing income. This may be because substance-abusers are physically or mentally unable to work on a consistent basis, or because an employer has cut their pay, taken away shifts as punishment or fired them. As the National Institute on Drug Abuse notes, a drug or alcohol-related problem that results in a loss of earnings will not only detract from the substance-abuser's economic well-being, but will also have impacts on spouses and children.

    Legal Costs

    • Abusing legal substances such as alcohol and illegal substances such as cocaine and heroine, can lead to fines, arrests and even jail-time. This is especially true if you operate an automobile while intoxicated. According to the NIDA, substance abusers often take part in underground and black market economies, such as prostitution, drug-dealing and gambling, which can also lead to trouble with law. For these reasons, substance abusers can likely expect to deal with legal costs at some point in their lives, be it for a fine, for bail or for a good lawyer to help get them out of trouble.

    Health Costs

    • In addition to legal trouble, substance abuse also often leads to trouble with health. Abusing drugs and alcohol increases your chances of becoming ill and for incurring injury. Having to pay for the medical expenses to take care of these health conditions is another financial effect of substance abuse.

    Increased Insurance Rates

    • According to Drug Rehabs, the typical substance-abuser will be involved in at least one DUI, or driving-under-the-influence, episode. In addition to paying the legal penalties associated with DUIs, substance abusers will also have to endure substantial hikes in their insurance coverage, including health insurance and car insurance.

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