The Cost of Addiction

Written by Chloe Nicosia

The Cost of Addiction – How Much Does Sustaining a Habit Cost?

Everyone knows that supporting a drug habit can be expensive, but just how expensive is it really? Nationally, the cost of addiction reaches an astronomical $740 billion every year in the United States. This amount is made up of the lost work productivity, crime costs and the strain put onto the health care system.

In this article, we will look at what a person can expect to spend to sustain a substance use disorder.

A Methamphetamine Habit

Crystal meth is a highly addictive drug. One use lasts for about 4 – 24 hours, which various based on its purity. Usually a dose is about a quarter gram, but as a tolerance develops the user will require more to be able to feel the same high.

If you were to use just one quarter of a gram a day at $25, you will spend around $9,125 per year.

The cost of addiction once tolerance develops is around $36,500 a year.

Cost of Alcohol Abuse

The cost of alcohol abuse can vary depending on whether the person frequents a bar or consume their own supply of alcohol. For the purposes of this, we will look at the cost of addiction for a person buying their alcohol from a bottle store.

A bottle of wine a night at $8 or a 12-pack of beer at $9 would cost you $2920 or $3285 a year respectively.

A person who buys a bottle of vodka a night would pay around $5,475 a year.

Alcohol abuse and legal problems are common. The average cost of a single DUI is around $10,000. If you were to be fined for public intoxication, you can expect the fine to be between $150 and $1,000.

Cost of Opioid Addiction

As is the case with drugs that cause a tolerance to develop, the cost of opioid addiction increases over time. When a person buys prescription pain relievers legally, the cost is usually about $1.25 – $6 per tablet. When sold illegally, a person can expect to pay between $5 and $10 for a single dose. Higher strength doses can cost between $65 and $80.

A daily pill habit can cost a person between $3,650 and $29,000 a year.

If a person is caught in possession of heroin, they will face up to a year in fail along with a $5,000 fine. It is important to remember that as prescription opioids become difficult to afford or get a hold of, many addicts switch to heroin as their way to get their opioid fix.

Cocaine Addiction Cost

The cost of addiction to cocaine becomes very high because of how the drug is used. Instead of using a single dose in a night, cocaine abusers often go through a night-long cycle of snorting every 30 minutes to an hour. This is because the drug is short-lived and when faced with the comedown, most users will use more. This results in a cocaine user requiring several doses throughout a day.

Just one gram of cocaine will cost around $50 – $70. If that the amount that a person uses in a day, they would spend around $21,900 – $25,500 a year.

An “eight-ball”, which cocaine abusers will binge on, will cost around $150 – $250. Used frequently, a person can expect to pay between $54,750 and $91,250 a year.

Some people may think that rehab is too expensive, but when compared to the financial strain that a substance addiction puts on a person, it is a healthy investment in your future self. Call Better Addiction Care today at 1.800.429.7690 to find treatment.