Substance abuse and addiction cost federal, state and local governments at least $467.7 billion in 2005, according to Shoveling Up II: The Impact of Substance Abuse on Federal, State and Local Budgets, a new 287-page report released May 28 by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA).

The CASA report found that of $373.9 billion in federal and state spending, 95.6 percent ($357.4 billion) went to shovel up the consequences and human wreckage of substance abuse and addiction; only 1.9 percent went to prevention and treatment, 0.4 percent to research, 1.4 percent to taxation and regulation, and 0.7 percent to interdiction.

The report, based on three years of research and analysis, is the first ever to assess the costs of tobacco, alcohol and illegal and prescription drug abuse to all levels of government.  Using the most conservative assumptions, the study concluded that the federal government spent $238.2 billion; states, $135.8 billion; and local governments, $93.8 billion, in 2005 (the most recent year for which data were available over the course of the study).

Multnomah County was one of the handful of municipalities which participated in this survey.

OREGON STATISTICS FOR 2005

The burden of addiction was 9.5% of the total Oregon state budget in 2005 – $1.4 billion dollars
Oregon spent $96 million on addiction prevention, treatment and research- $26 per person
Liquor store revenue total $309,649,000; $83.67 per capita
Tobacco and alcohol tax revenue total $257,301,000; $69.53 per capita

MULTNOMAH COUNTY STATISTICS FOR 2005

The burden of addiction was 15.5% of the total Multnomah County budget in 2005 – $116 million dollars
Multnomah County spent $6.4 million on addiction prevention, treatment and research- $9 per person, 0.9% of the county budget

EXTRA – download the CASA report Shoveling Up II: The Impact of Substance Abuse on Federal, State and Local Budgets