Economic Impact

Approximately 24 million people in the United States use illicit substances and nearly 18 million misuse alcohol. Every 19 minutes, a person overdoses on prescription drugs. Thousands of families, friends, employers, and communities are directly affected by drug and alcohol misuse. Substance use disorders increase the number of children in foster care, child abuse, sexual assaults and prison sentences. It decreases productivity and causes work-related injuries. The annual cost of substance use disorders is an estimated $600 billion in lost revenue, health care, legal fees and damages.

Substance Use Disorders and the Workplace

Use and misuse of substances in the workplace can cost an employer an average of $11,000 to $13,000 annually in workplace-related injuries, absenteeism and health care premiums.

Workers with alcohol use disorders are 2.7 times more likely to have injury-related absences.

Up to 40 percent of industrial fatalities and 47 percent of industrial injuries are linked to alcohol consumption and alcohol use disorders.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) estimates that 75 percent of people struggling with a substance use disorder are currently employed.

Substance Use Disorders and the Family

Loved ones, especially children, are the hardest hit by the effects of someone struggling with a substance use disorder. Children often lack basic necessities like food and shelter and have little to no health care. Families with at least one parent that struggles with a substance use disorder are more likely to end up homeless or in poverty.

Substance use disorders are the primary cause of over 75 percent of all children being placed in foster care. Substance use is cited as the primary factor in 80% of all child abuse and neglect cases.

Children of persons with a substance use disorder are eight times more likely to develop a substance use disorder as adults.

Substance Use Disorders and the Legal System

Drug-related incarcerations make up over 50 percent of federal prison populations and nearly 20 percent of state prison populations.

The International Narcotics Control Board study stated that in the U.S., “17 percent of state prisoners and 18 percent of federal inmates said they had committed the offense for which they were currently serving a sentence to obtain money for drugs.”

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) estimates an average cost $24,000 per prisoner for one full year imprisonment.

As more people develop substance use disorders, the illegal drug market grows. The cost of staffing and training law enforcement to contend with these issues rises exponentially as the drug trade increases.

Substance Use Disorders and Healthcare

NIDA estimates health care costs related to substance use disorders are $232 billion annually, with the majority being absorbed by hospitals and tax payers through Medicare and Medicaid. Tobacco accounts for $168 billion; alcohol $27 billion; illicit drugs $11 billion; and prescription opioids $26 billion.

Substance use and misuse has far-reaching consequences across all economic and societal groups. It impacts everyone through higher taxes and insurance premiums, lower workplace productivity and the abuse and neglect of children in every community. It knows no boundaries.