We treat drug users very differently depending on their social class. We need …
This seems to me the best way to deal with the drugs problem, by taking the production and distribution of drugs away from criminals, and by treating it as a medical and social problem rather than a criminal one. People who think the present position …
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Putnam commission sponsors drug treatment beds
WINFIELD, W.Va. — Facing the largest jail bill the county has ever seen, Putnam County commissioners voted Tuesday to contract with a nonprofit group to treat what the county prosecutor sees as the primary problem — drug addiction. "The frustration …
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Education Deform: School-to-Prison Pipeline
She is not afraid to say that the school resource officers in some Spokane schools are “heavy handed, pushing youths in diversion programs for carrying a pocket knife at school or smoking a little pot. … borne out, the juvenile and adult criminal …
Read more on Dissident Voice

FDA issues warning to controversial Houston cancer doctor
The Food and Drug Administration has issued a strongly worded warning letter to a controversial Houston physician, Stanislaw Burzynski, who was the subject of a USA TODAY investigation last month. Burzynski – hailed as a maverick by his fans but a …
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Attorneys General Ask FDA to Rethink Zohydro ER Approval
"Law enforcement officers, public health workers, and substance abuse treatment providers are just now beginning to stem the tide of prescription drug addiction. We do … "By early December, FDA plans to submit our formal recommendation package to HHS …
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NY drug addict who ran cancer scam pleads guilty
Although Ozarowski could have faced a sentence of up to seven years in prison, Judge John Iliou said he would sentence the 21-year-old to a drug treatment program for up to two years plus an additional year's probation. Ozarowski, who's … When one …
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They always say that admitting to a problem is that hardest part of recovery. However, this isn’t always true. What do you do after that? Where do you turn to? For those battling drug addictions, this can be a very difficult process. When dealing with drug rehab, Los Angeles is often the city to go to. There is a Los Angeles drug treatment center every couple miles. But, getting to the point where rehab is an option is also a very hard battle. Those battling with drug addictions need support. It is important not to feel punished or guilty when dealing with a drug issue. Here are some tips for those dealing with addiction or helping someone who is.

Friends are crucial in a time like this. No one can beat an addiction alone. Often times, family can be too helpful or too angry, where as friends want nothing but to help. If your friend is addicted to drugs and looking for help, reach out to them. One of the most powerful tools to be addiction is support. Feeling like someone else wants them to quit and is willing to help them can be the deciding factor. Also, don’t be a fair weather friend. If you quit as soon as the situation gets sticky, you will hurt the person greatly.

Also, for those who are dealing with addiction, the people you surround yourself with is important. If your drug abuse is a social thing, or started as a social thing, you need to find new friends. Don’t attend parties while trying to get clean. However, don’t sit at home and have no social life. It is important to go out and stay busy so the temptation is lessened. Even if your friends are not addicted to drugs, explain to them that you are, and it is difficult for you to resist when they do drugs around you. If they won’t change for you, it is time to invest in a new group of friends.

Local support groups can also be a godsend in a time like this. If rehab is too expensive, or perhaps you’re simply not ready, these are a great alternative. They are support groups similar to Alcoholics Anonymous, but they target specific drugs. These are usually more popular than you realized especially if you live in the city. The sessions are usually held in gyms or local meeting halls, so they are easily accessible. Through groups like this you can find other people suffering like you who may help your beat you addiction.

A lot of people turn to religion when dealing with drug addiction. Religion can be something to focus on or a way to call out for help. Lots of people find god and use god as support. Some people turn to more spiritual religions as a way to channel their addiction into something more positive. Also, activities such as yoga and running can be a great way to keep busy. The key is getting help and not leaving any room for relapse.

A New Day Rehab Reaches Out to More Victims of Substance Abuse
According to Mr. Slinskey, “Drug and Alcohol addiction and emotional disorders are a fact of our time and the mission of A New Day Rehab is to help our patients get clean and sober and maintain long term sobriety.” ####. About A New Day Rehab:.
Read more on PR Web (press release)

Question by Evan: I NEED TO KNOW THE MONEY SPENT ON ALCOHOL REHABS YEARLY. RECENT AND RELIABLE PLZ.?
RECENT AND RELIABLE PLZ.

Best answer:

Answer by raysny
The most recent I could find for the US has the figures for 1997:

“A study shows that the U.S. spent a combined $ 11.9 billion on alcohol and drug abuse treatment, while the total social costs were more than $ 294 billion. The results were part of the National Estimates of Expenditures for Substance Abuse Treatment, 1997, which was released at the end of April by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment.

The report, prepared by the MEDSTAT Group for SAMHSA, examines how much is spent in the U.S. to treat alcohol and drug abuse, how that spending has changed between 1987 and 1997, how much of the spending is done by the private and public sectors, and how substance abuse expenditures compare to spending for mental health and other health conditions in the U.S.”
http://www.usmedicine.com/newsDetails.cfm?dailyID=54

In NY:
“States report spending $ 2.5 billion a year on treatment. States did not distinguish whether the treatment was for alcohol, illicit drug abuse or nicotine addiction. Of the $ 2.5 billion total, $ 695 million is spent through the departments of health and $ 633 million through the state substance abuse agencies. We believe that virtually all of these funds are spent on alcohol and illegal drug treatment.”
Source: National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, Shoveling Up: The Impact of Substance Abuse on State Budgets (New York, NY: CASA, Jan. 2001), p. 24.

States Waste Billions Dealing with Consequences of Addiction, CASA Study Says
May 28, 2009

The vast majority of the estimated $ 467.7 billion in substance-abuse related spending by governments on substance-abuse problems went to deal with the consequences of alcohol, tobacco and other drug use, not treatment and prevention, according to a new report from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.

The report, titled, “Shoveling Up II: The Impact of Substance Abuse on Federal, State and Local Budgets,” found that 95 percent of the $ 373.9 billion spent by the federal government and states went to paying for the societal and personal damage caused by alcohol and other drug use; the calculation included crime, health care costs, child abuse, domestic violence, homelessness and other consequences of tobacco, alcohol and illegal and prescription drug abuse and addiction.

Just 1.9 percent went to treatment and prevention, while 0.4 percent was spent on research, 1.4 percent went towards taxation and regulation, and 0.7 percent went to interdiction.

“Such upside-down-cake public policy is unconscionable,” said Joseph A. Califano, Jr., CASA’s founder and chairman. “It’s past time for this fiscal and human waste to end.”

CASA estimated that the federal government spent $ 238.2 billion on substance-abuse related issues in 2005, while states spent $ 135.8 billion and local governments spent $ 93.8 billion. The report said that 58 percent of spending was for health care and 13.1 percent on justice systems.

Researchers estimated that 11.2 percent of all federal and state government spending went towards alcohol, tobacco and other drug abuse and addictions and its consequences. The report said that Connecticut spent the most proportionately on prevention, treatment and research — $ 10.39 of every $ 100 spent on addiction issues — while New Hampshire spent the least — 22 cents.
http://www.jointogether.org/news/headlines/inthenews/2009/states-waste-billions-dealing.html

Key Findings

Of the $ 3.3 trillion total federal and state government spending, $ 373.9 billion –11.2 percent, more than one of every ten dollars– was spent on tobacco, alcohol and illegal and prescription drug abuse and addiction and its consequences.

The federal government spent $ 238.2 billion (9.6 percent of its budget) on substance abuse and addiction. If substance abuse and addiction were its own budget category at the federal level, it would rank sixth, behind social security, national defense, income security, Medicare and other health programs including the federal share of Medicaid.

State governments spent $ 135.8 billion (15.7 percent of their budgets) to deal with substance abuse and addiction, up from 13.3 percent in 1998. If substance abuse and addiction were its own state budget category, it would rank second behind spending on elementary and secondary education.

Local governments spent $ 93.8 billion on substance abuse and addiction (9 percent of their budgets), outstripping local spending for transportation and public welfare.¹

For every $ 100 spent by state governments on substance abuse and addiction, the average spent on prevention, treatment and research was $ 2.38; Connecticut spent the most, $ 10.39; New Hampshire spent the least, $ 0.22.

For every dollar the federal and state governments spent on prevention and treatment, they spent $ 59.83 shoveling up the consequences, despite a growing

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