DRUG ABUSE COSTS STATE TAX PAYERS PLENTY

We're finally getting a handle on what drug abuse costs Louisiana taxpayers.

It's monstrous.

Louisiana is currently spending $1,060,000,000 -- that's $1.06 billion --
annually to deal with the effects of substance abuse. That amounts to $243
for every man, woman and child in the state. This compares to a national
average of $299 per person.

There's even more horrifying news. Federal expenditures in Louisiana for
the effects of substance abuse haven't been counted, but it's safe to say
that the total federal bill for Louisiana at least matches the money spent
by the state.

Since IRS taxes make up the federal portion of the costs, it can be said
that the cost in state and federal taxes for every Louisiana resident is at
least $486 per year.

Although 5 of the 50 states didn't provide enough information to be
included in the three-year study by Columbia University's National Center
of Addiction and Substance Abuse, a fairly accurate projection could be
made. It amounts to $81.3 billion annually for all states.

The study examined state expenditures dealing with the effects of illegal
drugs, alcohol and cigarettes.

Again using the conservative guess that total federal spending is equal to
state spending, the projection comes to $162.6 billion a year.

Bracketing Louisiana's costs confirms our worst fears. Substance abuse has
become the dominant factor in our law enforcement, judicial and penal
systems. While law enforcement costs aren't separated into a specific
category, it can be stated without fear of contradiction that at least a
quarter of the system's resources are needed to deal with the problem.

The percentages jump sharply from that point on. Louisiana spends $419.5
million a year conducting trials for substance abusers, keeping them in
prisons or on probation.

Overall, 74.7 of the judiciary budget, 72.7 percent of the state and parish
prison budget and 68.8 percent of the juvenile justice budget are spent
because of addiction.

Addictions have a huge impact on Louisiana's child welfare programs, with
$54.9 million -- or 72.3 percent -- of the budget going toward programs and
costs related to addiction.

In one of the saddest ironies, a total of $257 million -- or 11.1 percent
of the state's elementary and secondary education budget -- is spent on
substance addiction. It takes no imagination at all to conjure up a vision
of a Louisiana without substance abuse.

But the vision will remain an empty one -- unless we learn to say the
simple word "no."