SUBSTANCE ABUSE COSTS CALIFORNIA $10.9 BILLION, STUDY FINDS

WASHINGTON (AP) -- California spent $10.9 billion in one year to deal with
the effects of drug, alcohol and cigarette abuse -- more than any other
state, according to a study released Monday.

By comparison, the state spent about $6.8 billion on Medicaid, $4 billion on
transportation and $8.2 billion on higher education.

The direct and indirect costs of substance abuse were equivalent to 16
percent of the state budget in 1998, according to the study by the National
Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.

Only New York and Massachusetts spent a larger percentage, at 18 percent and
17.4 percent, respectively. The average for states was about 13 percent.

The cost was equivalent to about $340 for every man, woman and child in
California. That's $41 higher than the national average, but well below the
$812 per capita rate in the District of Columbia.

However, comparisons between states are difficult, according to the study's
principal researcher, because the report did not count federal funds, and
because states spend different proportions of their budgets on social
programs.

Only about 4 percent of the substance abuse-related spending in California
and the nation were direct costs such as prevention programs, research and
health care related to substance abuse.

Indirect costs were estimated as the "burden" on everything from law
enforcement to welfare. The estimate would include, for example, the lost
productivity of a substance-abusing teacher.

The justice system was most heavily impacted by substance abuse,
representing 38 percent of the estimated cost in California.

Education represented 24 percent, followed by health costs at 20 percent.