Costs may also be shifted to the criminal justice system which deals predominately with individuals with addiction disorders and substance abuse problems. In addition, the criminal justice system may eventually pick up the treatment costs for a minority of inmates who are offered access to alcoholism and drug addiction treatment. These costs could be avoided by providing an early investment in non-discriminatory insurance coverage for alcoholism and drug addiction treatment. A. Alcoholism and drug addiction is a problem that is national in scope. What all Americans must understand is that no one is immune from the consequences of drug use.
Every family is vulnerable.
We must make a commitment to reducing drug abuse and not mistakenly assume that illegal drugs are someone else's concern. The same reasoning applies to issues of alcoholism. In addition, due to common misperceptions about short term business costs which are, unfortunately, more salient at the state level, a federal law is necessary to ensure that states do not avoid treating alcoholism and drug addiction as a disease. A. Alcoholism and Drug Addiction are life threatening diseases. We can significantly reduce the harm they cause when we recognize and treat them as diseases.