Drug Abuse and Society

Drug abuse affects not only the addict but also his family, friends, the neighborhood, and society at large. It also affects businesses and government resources, which can well be borne out by the fact that the United States had to bear the brunt of an economic cost of $180.9 billion for drug abuse.

Drug abuse affects the health of the user, bringing about sickness and even death. Moreover, needle-borne diseases such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis are most likely to afflict the drug user. Widespread devastating effects of these diseases can be expected because nearly 3.5 million people over the age of 18 have confirmed that they had injected illicit drugs in their lifetime.

People who are drug abusers would go to any length in order to get the drugs and in this process they neglect the welfare and health of their children. These children are put to greater risk when illicit drugs like methamphetamine are produced in their homes by their parents because of the hazardous chemicals that are used in the process. Inhaling fumes and gases from these chemicals can put their health to great risk.

The cost on society due to drug abuse is colossal because the likelihood of employment-related accidents is very high when there are drug abusers among the employees of a business. Moreover, such employees who are drug abusers tend to pilfer materials, cash, and products in order to generate money to buy drugs. The cost on society goes up further because of low productivity, absenteeism, and higher insurance and medical payouts by the employers of such drug abusers.

The cost on society also escalates when the clandestine methamphetamine laboratories are cleaned up by the authorities and this cost has been estimated to be over $18.6 million in a year. There are many other costs on society that cannot be quantified.