Pubdate: Sun, 14 Mar 2004 Source: Denver Post (CO) Copyright: 2004 The Denver Post Corp Contact: http://www.denverpost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122 Author: Adam Brickner Note: Adam Brickner is director of Denver's Office of Drug Strategy, which is part of the Denver Department of Human Services. Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment) ABUSE PREVENTION SHOULD BE PRIORITY Substance abuse and addiction not only cause significant harm to Colorado families, but also carry a hefty price tag for our community. Colorado loses roughly $4.4 billion annually and Denver loses $1.5 billion annually in productivity, medical costs and criminal justice costs, in addition to the incalculable toll in human suffering. Addiction is a humbling, painful disease that takes whatever life one has and alters it to fit a new reality in which the addiction controls behavior. Drug addiction is a brain disease. This is true of all harmful addictions, including gambling, eating disorders, smoking, alcoholism, prescription drug abuse, illegal drugs and even sex. No one starts a behavior thinking it may result in a life-threatening disease. But when these behaviors become unhealthy addictions, they take over a person's brain to the extent that it is, in fact, a disease. Almost everyone knows someone who has been touched by addiction. Eradicating addiction is impossible, but reducing the harm caused by illegal substance abuse is not. We can "push back" against these behaviors. Education is key in addressing the misperception that some addictive drugs are harmless. There is strong evidence that the more people are educated about the individual risks of taking drugs, the less likely they are to engage in the behavior. Yet, despite substantial scientific evidence that treatment and prevention programs are effective, Colorado and many other states still spend most of their federal funding dealing with the consequences of abuse and addiction rather than on preventing these problems. According to a study by Columbia University, Colorado spends only 6 cents for every $100 in federal money it receives on substance abuse research, prevention and treatment. This places Colorado last among the 47 states represented in that study, in which the average expenditure on these programs was $3.70 of every $100. Tobacco and alcohol currently cause more harm to our community than all illegal drugs combined. Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death and disease in Colorado, costing the state more than $1 billion in related health care costs. Eighty to 90 percent of all adults who are currently addicted to tobacco started smoking before they were 18 years old. More than 20,000 Colorado children become daily tobacco users every year. Nearly one in three will die prematurely from tobacco-related illnesses. In 2002, the alcohol-related death rate was 24 per every 100,000 people. Addiction creates a heavy burden on our neighborhoods through our health care system, our criminal justice system, our school systems, our business community, our human services agencies and our community-based organizations. Substance abuse and addiction are also among the main causes of homelessness and contribute to many illegal activities, including prostitution. There is scientific evidence that prevention and treatment services effectively reduce the social and economic impact of drug abuse and addiction. People who receive these services use drugs less often, engage in criminal behavior less often, interact with health care systems less often, and cause less harm to their communities. After treatment, the number of clients on public assistance decreased 11 percent nationwide and homelessness dropped 43 percent, according to a five-year evaluation conducted for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from 1992 to 1997. A Colorado follow-up study demonstrated a 97 percent decrease in arrests in all criminal offense categories following substance abuse treatment. In Denver, we are "pushing back" against addiction: Our school systems are developing and implementing programs to educate youth about the harm caused by drugs. Our city's Department of Human Services is working to help people who are addicted and address the issue of substance abuse in relation to homelessness. Our police department is implementing comprehensive training programs to help patrol officers better identify and de-escalate mental health or drug addiction situations. The city and community partners created a program where 18- to 25-year-old homeless addicts can get off the street and into housing and treatment. The media are helping get anti-drug messages out onto our airwaves. Our community-based organizations and foundations are finding avenues to help people who are in harm's way because of addiction. Substance abuse and addiction are pervasive problems that affect all aspects of our society, and trying to solve the problems caused by addiction can seem overwhelming. There is no magic bullet that will make the problem go away, but we know that addiction is a treatable disease, and substance use is a preventable behavior. As a society, we must use what we know to protect our youth and others at risk of addiction, and we must commit to increased funding for prevention and treatment services and additional research that can help us further address substance abuse and addiction issues. - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager