When one sees a headline like Report: “Nearly $500 billion spent in U.S. on substance abuse, addiction” what thoughts do usually come to mind? That we are doing very well on this front and that we have achieved something during recent times are some of them? Actually, the results in the detailed report speak otherwise.

In 2005 it cost $500 billion to US government for substance abuse, addiction and its consequences. Compared this to Iraq war costs – these numbers are not comparable for various reasons but they do show the order of damage. In 2005 the Iraq war cost was less than $500 billion! So there is a less costly war we hear so much about and then there is a more expensive that goes unnoticed until a headline comes and goes by.

One argument, albeit very weak, that is made on such a topic is Iraq war costs us lives. Trust me when I repeat the cliche that drugs are truly the silent killers. We do not hear about the damage done by this menace in our society. Iraq war got global attention, political castles were founded and demolished on the topic – it got hot, as they say. At the same time, drugs have been killing us and we are only spending resources without results to match.

Per the report by Columbia University’s National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, of the costs spent on drug programs, only 1.9% was spent on prevention and treatment, 1.4% on taxation and regulation, and less than 1% on research and interdiction. Now, that tells a lot. Doesn’t it? Where was the rest of money spent? Of the total 95.6% was spent to “shovel up the consequences and human wreckage of substance abuse and addiction.”

In fact, more than $50 were spent on public programs aimed at addressing drug effects for every $1 to prevent and treat substance abuse. That tells us what kind of management of takes place on such programs. So, in a rather dark way, in 2005 we managed to sell junk cars so we could go bankrupt in 2009, we spent huge amounts on Iraq war with no outcomes until 2020, we mismanaged huge amounts on drug programs, and we put large populations in the habit of borrowing out of limits so they could lose habitats. I think we should get these guys to Harvard and Kelloggs. Wait, they are from those Ivy leagues, right?

I quote directly: “Despite a significant and growing body of knowledge documenting that addiction is a preventable, treatable and manageable disease, and despite the proven efficacy of prevention and treatment techniques, our nation still looks the other way while substance abuse and addiction cause illness, injury, death and crime, savage our children, overwhelm social service systems, impede education — and slap a heavy and growing tax on our citizens,” Susan Foster, the addiction center’s vice president and director of policy research and analysis, said in a written statement.
Per the report, if substance abuse and addiction were its own category within the federal budget, it would rank 6th in size behind Social Security, national defense, Medicare and two other programs, consuming 9.6 percent of the entire budget. If substance abuse were a state budget category, it would rank 2nd behind elementary and secondary education, the report says.

“Under any circumstances, spending more than 95 percent of taxpayer dollars on the crime, health care costs, child abuse, domestic violence, homelessness and other consequences of tobacco, alcohol and illegal and prescription drug abuse and addiction, and only 2 percent to relieve individuals and taxpayers of these burdens, is a reckless misallocation of public funds,” Joseph Califano Jr., a former U.S. secretary of health, education and welfare who founded the addiction center and serves as its chairman, said in the statement. “In these economic times, such upside-down-cake public policy is unconscionable. It’s past time for this fiscal and human waste to end.”
Well said Mr. Califano! But what can happen except for rose garden gatherings when we have to win in Afghanistan, execute our commitment to put that country together called Iraq, release and unreleased torture pictures and, above all, win elections. Not much. We are in a long list of priorities. It would not hurt to select some and put our brains behind those. Once some results come by we can execute on others.
One of the most significant recommendations in the report is we need to shift our mental models about the stigmas surrounding substance abuse – we must see the drug abuse as a treatable disease and not as a social curse. Just like we changed our thoughts about AIDS!

The cost allocation is a shame on our administration – but that’s a mockery for us too who allow such things to go on like this. Understood that we were not informed earlier about this – but now that we are, what plans do we have? Listen to another president in tax-payer funded rose garden to paint a picture from 30,000 feet which is a far cry from reality? Do you know what we are hinting by behaving this way – we are buying time to get another headline like above so another blog entry like this can be written. Wake up. And, then get up. And, then act.

If someone is looking for weapons of mass destruction then here they are called drugs. Look no further!