A front page article in the May 24 issue of USA Today is titled "Drug Overdoses Soar."
The story details interesting facts about addiction:
- An estimated 44,000 a year die from overdoses. This is more than die in car accidents.
- Of 22.7 million who needed treatment, only 11% received it in 2013.
- 316,000 tried and failed to find treatment that year.
- Only 2% of the 468 billion spent on addiction goes to treatment. The rest goes to hospital care, jails, and courts.
- Every dollar invested in treatment saves $4 to $7 in costs for related crime, courts, and hospitalizations.
- Patients are more frequently denied health care for substance abuse than for other medical conditions.
The more people who know the costs of addiction, the more progress will be made. I think taxpayers are tired of paying for hospitalizing, and jailing addicts.
