Pubdate: Sat, 24 Feb 2001 Source: American Press (LA) Copyright: 2001 Shearman Corporation Contact: P.O. Box 2893, Lake Charles, LA 70602 Fax: (337) 494-4070 Website: http://www.americanpress.com/ DRUG ABUSE COSTS STATE TAX PAYERS PLENTY We're finally getting a handle on what drug abuse costs Louisiana taxpayers. It's monstrous. Louisiana is currently spending $1,060,000,000 -- that's $1.06 billion -- annually to deal with the effects of substance abuse. That amounts to $243 for every man, woman and child in the state. This compares to a national average of $299 per person. There's even more horrifying news. Federal expenditures in Louisiana for the effects of substance abuse haven't been counted, but it's safe to say that the total federal bill for Louisiana at least matches the money spent by the state. Since IRS taxes make up the federal portion of the costs, it can be said that the cost in state and federal taxes for every Louisiana resident is at least $486 per year. Although 5 of the 50 states didn't provide enough information to be included in the three-year study by Columbia University's National Center of Addiction and Substance Abuse, a fairly accurate projection could be made. It amounts to $81.3 billion annually for all states. The study examined state expenditures dealing with the effects of illegal drugs, alcohol and cigarettes. Again using the conservative guess that total federal spending is equal to state spending, the projection comes to $162.6 billion a year. Bracketing Louisiana's costs confirms our worst fears. Substance abuse has become the dominant factor in our law enforcement, judicial and penal systems. While law enforcement costs aren't separated into a specific category, it can be stated without fear of contradiction that at least a quarter of the system's resources are needed to deal with the problem. The percentages jump sharply from that point on. Louisiana spends $419.5 million a year conducting trials for substance abusers, keeping them in prisons or on probation. Overall, 74.7 of the judiciary budget, 72.7 percent of the state and parish prison budget and 68.8 percent of the juvenile justice budget are spent because of addiction. Addictions have a huge impact on Louisiana's child welfare programs, with $54.9 million -- or 72.3 percent -- of the budget going toward programs and costs related to addiction. In one of the saddest ironies, a total of $257 million -- or 11.1 percent of the state's elementary and secondary education budget -- is spent on substance addiction. It takes no imagination at all to conjure up a vision of a Louisiana without substance abuse. But the vision will remain an empty one -- unless we learn to say the simple word "no." - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager