The Cost of Substance Abuse in WV

“Abuse and addiction involving illegal and prescription drugs, alcohol, and tobacco are involved in virtually every domestic problem our state and nation face: crime, cancer, heart and lung disease, AIDS, cirrhosis, child abuse and neglect, domestic violence, teen pregnancy, chronic welfare dependency, learning disabilities, conduct disorders, poor school performance. The negative costs of substance abuse are among the largest costs in the state’s budget, although their impact and exact cost is hidden within the expenses for criminal justice, education, health care, mental health, and highway safety.” - Wayne Coombs, WV Prevention Resource Center

A Billion $ Issue for West Virginia

  • The Cost of Substance Abuse in WV: An Article by Wayne Coombs

  • WV Funding Study Reports

  • The financial cost of substance abuse in WV totals more than $1.8 BILLION per year.
    Source: PCG Funding Analysis, 2006

  • Of every dollar spent on substance abuse in WV, 99.6¢ goes to shoveling up the wreckage of substance abuse and only .4¢ is used to prevent and treat it.
    Source: CASA "Shoveling Up" Report, 2001

  • In WV, we spend more on substance abuse than we do on higher education.
    Source: PCG Funding Analysis, 2006

  • Substance use costs every man, woman, and child in WV more than $1,143 per year, or over $4,500 for a family of four. Source: PCG Funding Analysis, 2006

  • In WV during 2009, we could spend as high as 20 cents of every state budget dollar on substance abuse.
    Source: PCG Funding Analysis, 2006

  • Annual health care expenditures in the state directly caused by tobacco use is approximately $700 million.
    Source: WV DTP, 2009

Crime

  • Alcohol is the substance most closely linked with criminal behavior
    Source: Gever, 2006

  • Substance abuse is a leading cause of parole and probation violations.

  • In 2005, the FBI reported there were about 61,000 arrests in WV, half of which were connected to alcohol and drugs, costing state police, county sheriffs, and municipal police budgets over $140 million per year.

  • In the WV Court system, half of the cost of criminal, magistrate, and probation cases is attributable to substance use, nearly $42 million per year/

  • In 2006, nearly 80% of WV juvenile offenders were found to be substance users.

  • The estimated financial impact of substance abuse on state corrections is $159 million per year and can be expected to continue to increase.

Highway Crashes

  • In 2006, alcohol related highway crashes in WV resulted in a financial loss estimated at $720 million per year … to say nothing of the devastation and loss of human lives.

  • Nearly as many people die from drug overdoses, including prescription drugs, as die from highway crashes.

  • Almost one-third (32.9%) of WV’s traffic fatalities in 2007 involved drunk drivers. This is more than a 35% increase from 2006.
    Source: MADD State Progress Report, 2008

Child Welfare

  • Nearly 70% of parents who come into contact with the child welfare system have problems with substance abuse.
    Source: CASA "Shoveling Up" Report, 2001

Health Care

  • The annual cost of health care for substance abuse in WV is more than $116 million dollars. Of this total, roughly $17½ million is for emergency room visits alone.
  • Prescription drug costs related to treating substance use in WV totals nearly $32 million per year.
    Source: WV Funding Study Report, 2009

  • In 2006, drug overdoses were the leading cause of death in WV for adults under the age of 45. These rates were the highest in the country.

  • In 2006, 85% of unintentional drug overdose deaths in WV involved prescription drugs.

  • Research indicates that teenagers abuse prescription drugs more than they abuse heroin, cocaine, methamphetamines, crack or ecstasy, partly because they see prescriptions as ‘safer’ than other drugs.

  • WV fills 17.7 prescriptions per person per year, the highest rate in the nation

Underage Drinking

  • Underage drinking costs WV approximately $350 million annually in medical care, work loss, etc.
    Source: PIRE: UDETC, 2006

The Workplace

  • Substance-abusing employees are more likely to frequently change jobs; be late or absent; be less productive; be involved in a workplace accident; file a workers’ compensation claim.

  • Productivity loss in WV for incarcerated individuals with substance abuse problems amounts to about $107 million per year. These are lost wages on which these individuals would ordinarily be paying state taxes.

  • Employed drug abusers and heavy drinkers cost their employers about twice as much in medical and worker compensation claims as their drug-free coworkers.

Costs of Social Problems Publications (Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation)