STUDY RANKS STATES BY ANTI-DRUG SPENDING

WASHINGTON (AP) -- States spend billions of dollars cleaning up the
"wreckage" of drug, alcohol and cigarette abuse -- about as much as they
pay for higher education -- but little of that money goes to treatment
and prevention programs, according to a private study released Monday.

The three-year, state-by-state study, titled "Shoveling Up: The Impact
of Substance Abuse on State Budgets," estimates that states spent $81.3
billion dealing with substance abuse in 1998, about 13 percent of their
budgets. Of the total, $7.4 billion was for tobacco-related illnesses.

Of the total spent, about $3 billion was for prevention and treatment
programs. The rest was drawn from state services ranging from law
enforcement and welfare to health care and education.

"This is truly insane public policy," said Joseph A. Califano Jr.,
president of National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at
Columbia University, which conducted the study. "States that want to
reduce crime, slow the rise in Medicaid spending, move mothers and
children from welfare to work and responsible and nurturing family life
must shift from shoveling up the wreckage to preventing children and
teens from abusing drugs."

The study of states plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico found New York
used the largest portion of its budget -- 18 percent -- to deal with the
direct and indirect consequences of substance abuse. Puerto Rico spent
the lowest overall percentage, 6.1 percent, while South Carolina had the
lowest percentage among states -- 6.6 percent.