Substance addiction is a nightmare among several American families. Annually, more than 28 million US residents admit to abusing different illicit substances. This is equivalent to over 79 billion dollars used in their purchase. Although substance addiction effects worst hit the immediate families and friends, its impact is felt more by society.
When addiction cases rise in a State, the social system has to shoulder the burdens brought about by substance addiction. Common issues affecting society from heightened drug and substance abuse include high crime rates, child neglect, unstable families, unemployment, and rapid consumption of public funds.
In this abstract, we’ll look into the significant effects of substance addiction on society.
Prevalent Health Issues
In 2018, over 20 million individuals across all the US States were found to have substance use disorder. All this disorders were a result of alcohol and other illicit substances available in the US black markets. With significant health issues being drug addiction, people with substance abuse problems suffer other complex conditions.
Every individual plays a certain role in society. However, when the community starts losing its hardworking members to ailments related to substance abuse, its impact is felt by the whole society.
Unstable Families
A considerable percentage of people addicted to substance abuse are not destitute. Their close family members take care of them and oversee their medication where possible. The financial and emotional burden laid upon them is enormous, and they can’t bear it alone. As such, the community comes in with support on medication and financial support to the families while trying to stop drug addiction.
Skyrocketing Crime Rates
Even after heightened campaigns against the stigmatization of substance addicts and classifying addiction as a medical disease, the community has not entirely accepted addiction victims. Through stigmatization, the affected individuals can hardly get job opportunities. This renders them broke all the time and have to find means of survival within the community.
With the cravings and no financial support, most substance abusers end up committing minor crimes searching for money to buy drugs. This predisposes society to criminal activities and increases the number of convicts in its area.
Underperformance and Lower Productivity Levels
The economic implications of substance abuse are felt by the state, local, federal, and general taxpayers. When an employee fails to show up at work due to the effects of illicit substance, the company loses hundreds of dollars on each absenteeism case. When this is replicated across different businesses in a community, the economic status of the city or town goes down.
Drunk employees cannot carry out their mandate as required. Some end up stealing from the company to get enough money to buy drugs. This not only brings down a company but puts the livelihoods of other employees who depend on the company at risk. If left uncontrolled, the substance abuse menace could leave a whole city broke.
High Treatment Costs
Regardless of the substance that caused addiction, it takes costs for an individual to get clean and get back to his normal life. Whether in a residential, private, outpatient or inpatient addiction treatment facility, some products such as methamphetamine cost more before being cleared from an individuals’ system. Funds used by the state and medical cover providers increase the social costs denying the area residents important development projects.
Every substance addict deserves a second chance irrespective of how much they’ve been affected. It’s a social problem that everyone must try to curb. Fortunately, every State has top-notch drug rehabs that could help our loved ones regain sobriety and save them from drug-related deaths. Enroll them in one of the facilities today to get the much need help.
