Drug and alcohol abusers consume $470 million a year in West Virginia funds through such direct costs as hospitalization, treatment and incarceration, a new study has found.
As The Associated Press' Tom Breen reports, an author of that research has contrasted such spending with the less than $8 million devoted annually toward prevention.
Wayne Coombs, director of the West Virginia Prevention Resource Center, also speculated that lost productivity and other indirect costs could increase the annual toll to $1.8 billion.
"That's what I would call a heck of a burden to taxpayers right there,'' Coombs told AP.
At least some folks are focused on prevention. The Cabell County Substance Abuse Prevention Partnership plans to hold a drug summit Nov. 29, The Herald-Dispatch of Huntington reports.
The Charleston Gazette also has a story on Coombs' research and the ongoing Charleston conference addressing substance abuse at which it was presented.
No comments:
Post a Comment