Brother, Sister, Can You Spare a Dollar or Two? We Will Give Back at 7 to 1 Odds!

“Every dollar ($1.00) spent on drug and alcohol abuse treatment

saves the American public $7.00, largely through reduced crime,

according to a study of the cost-effectiveness

of California's substance abuse treatment programs.”

(Neil Swan, “California Study Finds $1 Spent on Treatment Saves Taxpayers $7,” National Institute of Drug Abuse, Volume 10, March/April 1995)

The University of Chicago's National Opinion Research Center, which conducted the study from 1991 to 1992, called it the largest and most scientifically rigorous cost-benefit analysis of drug abuse treatment ever undertaken.

The study, which was funded by the State of California, found that the $209 million the State spent on treatment between October 1991 and September 1992 resulted in an estimated $1.5 billion in savings for taxpayers. Much of this was due to reductions in crime and in the need for medical care.

Specifically, criminal activity by patients in California treatment programs fell by two-thirds after they had completed treatment. Use of medical care declined too. For example, hospital emergency room admissions among those in treatment dropped by a third.

In a similar study in the United Kingdom, economists found that every pound spent on helping teenagers cope with drug and alcohol problems saves the taxpayer up to £8 (eight pounds) over a lifetime. (“How One Pound Spent Helping Teenagers With Drug Problems Saves Taxpayer Eight Pounds Over a Lifetime,” Daily Mail Reporter, February 24 2011)

A total of £62.2million was spent on treating teenagers who misuse substances in 2008/09, but the combination of short and long-term benefits will lead to savings of between £290million and £522million for the U.K., a study by Frontier Economics found.

These include an immediate 55-65 per cent reduction in offending by young people receiving treatment, a 40 per cent drop in deaths and hospital admissions, and long-term benefits for education, employment and health.

The immediate benefits alone total £120.1million, while the longer-term benefits could top £400million over a lifetime, the study for the Department for Education showed.

Overall, a conservative estimate found that every pound spent on a teenager's drug and alcohol treatment could save between £4.66 and £8.38 over a lifetime, it said.


Scioto Rally For Recovery

The first Scioto Rally for Recovery is set for August 4 at Tracy Park, 12:00 P.M. To 11:30 P.M. The all-day event is sponsored by the Scioto County Drug Action Team in partnership with numerous community sponsors. Proceeds will help fund local addiction treatment for the indigent. Events include the following:

12:00 – 5:00          The Garrett Maloney Battle of the Bands featuring young local                                talent like While We Wait, Hidden Drive, Wake Up, Observer,

                               The Wilds and others.

Sign Up 12:00,
Leave at 2:00       The Brothers of the Wheel Motorcycle Poker Run

5:00 – 7:30           Recovery Rocks: Scioto's Got Talent Open Stage

7:30 – 8:00           Jacob Tolliver and his "Boogie Woogie" Piano

8:00 – 10:30         The Rick Ferrell Band Concert

10:30                    SOLACE Luminary Launch

Many Americans believe that drug abuse is not their problem. They have misconceptions that drug users belong to a segment of society different from their own or that drug abuse is remote from their environment. They are wrong.

Almost three quarters of drug users are employed. Although Americans believe drug abuse is not their problem, the majority believe that drug use and drug-related crime are among our nation’s most pressing social problems.(The Gallup Organization, Consult with America: A Look at How Americans View the Country’s Drug Problem, Summary Report, March 1996).

Approximately 45 percent of Americans know someone with a substance abuse problem. Drug abuse is clearly a problem that directly affects all citizens in many ways, including their pursuit of happiness and their pocketbook.

While drug use and its consequences threaten Americans of every socio-economic background, geographic region, educational level, and ethnic and racial identity, the effects of drug use are often felt disproportionally. Neighborhoods where illegal drug markets flourish are plagued by attendant crime and violence.

Americans who lack comprehensive health plans and have smaller incomes may be less able to afford treatment programs to overcome drug dependence.

What all Americans must understand

is that no one is immune from

the consequences of drug use.

Every family is vulnerable.

They must make a commitment to reducing drug abuse and not mistakenly assume that illegal drugs are the concern of someone else. (National Criminal Justice Reference System, https://www.ncjrs.gov/htm/chapter2.htm)

As Joseph Califano notes, “The choice for governors and state legislators is this; either continue to tax their constituents for funds to shovel up the wreckage of alcohol, drug and nicotine abuse and addiction or recast their priorities to focus on preventing and treating such abuse and addiction.”

Substance abuse costs our nation more than $484 billion per year. This includes health care expenditures, lost earnings, and costs associated with crime and accidents. This is an enormous burden that affects all of society - those who abuse these substances, and those who don't.

To give you some idea for comparison, the costs of drug abuse are more substantial than that of other chronic conditions (American Diabetes Association, 2003 and American Cancer Society, 2003) such as diabetes ($131.7 billion annually) and cancer ($171.6 billion annually). Also, Americans perceive drug abuse as a major public health problem directly linked to heart disease and HIV/AIDS.

The cost of drug abuse includes lost wages, loss of business profitability, welfare costs, health care costs, and criminal justice and incarceration costs. Some indirect impacts of drug abuse include domestic abuse and homelessness. Of course, no one can put a price tag on the heartache of ruined families and thousands of unnecessary deaths that could possibly have been avoided if alcohol and drug rehab programs were more widely available.

The financial costs alone of drug abuse stagger the imagination. A report by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University gave the results of a three year study about the cost of addiction for our government. The researchers assessed the costs of tobacco, alcohol, and illegal and prescription drug abuse, and the results were significant.

An estimated $468 billion was spent by the government in 2005 to deal with substance abuse and addiction. Most of those costs went toward direct health care costs or law enforcement...

Only 1.9% of the money was allocated

for treatment or prevention of substance abuse.

In other words, instead of using money to fix the problem,

our government spent most of the money

dealing with the consequences of substance abuse.

Certainly the government needs to re-prioritize expenditures. First, it needs to invest in education and prevention programs for those at high risk for substance abuse and the public in general. Secondly, it needs to encourage the use of treatment facilities that really work. It is important to have accurate reports that show the effectiveness of different types of treatment and if a facility is going to receive funding, it should be able to produce long-term results.

Every dollar you spent at the Rally For Recovery

should save Scioto County $7.00.

This is a deal taxpayers and good Samaritans cannot refuse.

Scores of people have been donating their time for many years now to help treatment and recovery in Scioto County. Now is the time for all good people to come to the aid of their neighbors in need. By doing so, these people will also direct their money toward the heart of the problem of drug abuse – the need for recovery. It is a problem that cannot be “wished” away or ignored. Everyone pays a dear price, and supporting recovery will give people their best returns.

August 4 will be a great day of celebration for those committed to fight drug abuse; however it will also present a unique opportunity for those in the area to step to the plate and hit a home run to defeat Scioto drug abuse. All money generated that day will stay in our county.

My Bottom Line

So, here is the bottom line today. I want you all to think of the Billy Ray Cyrus song about our Vietnam war veterans. The line is “All gave some, and some gave all.” We, in Scioto County, have been in a major war against drug abuse for over a decade now. We became the unfortunate epicenter of the prescription drug epidemic that is now sweeping the rest of the nation. And, the battles continues here.

All of us have been used and abused during this trying time. Some of us have suffered in limited financial ways, and those certainly “gave some.” But, others have suffered irreparable damage to their families and loved ones, and they have absolutely “given all.”

We cannot “arrest and jail away” the problem. We cannot legislate drug abuse into nonexistence. These attempts may aid us, yet we can best heal the county through better prevention and recovery. To remain callous or unresponsive about drug abuse does nothing to help solve the situation with which we must live. Many of us tried that and it didn't work. Teamwork and action does produce positive results. On a mass scale, these things can effect permanent change.

Please “give some” – a dollar or two donation, a $10 Rick Ferrell ticket or two, a cheap purchase of a refreshment or two at the park – to aid recovery. According to my research, if all 80,000 Scioto residents give “some” -- a dollar -- this event will return $560,000 in help to the county.

And, can you imagine if “some gave 'all'”? I think a $10 Rick ticket would qualify as “all” in this case. Hey, a thousand tickets would be a great donation of $10,000. I'll let these things be my dream and your challenge.

See you at the Scioto Rally For Recovery.  

And, if you want to slip a dollar or two into an envelope and send a donation for the rally to Scioto Rally For Recovery, Portsmouth Health Dept., 605 Washington St., Portsmouth, OH. 45662. The donations will go to various organizations of the Scioto Drug Action Team.

“All gave some”? A dollar?  

Please consider this.  

Your offerings will be well-spent.

We are a grass roots group.

We are YOU.