ALCOHOL IS THE REAL PROBLEM: STUDY

Canadians Wrongly See Illicit Drugs As More Serious Social Issue

Days after the federal government unveiled a budget that earmarked $64
million for a national anti-drug strategy, a new report says the
social and economic costs associated with alcohol are twice as high as
those racked up by illegal drug use.

The study says Canadians have an exaggerated view of the harms
associated with illegal drugs, possibly fueled by vivid media reports,
and the emphasis given the subject by police organizations, political
leaders and policy-makers.

The study, released yesterday by the Canadian Centre on Substance
Abuse, suggests anti-drug strategies should include alcohol as a
significant part of the equation.

The study said the economic and social costs of alcohol abuse reached
$7.4 billion in 2002, more than twice the $3.6 billion associated with
illicit drug use.

But Canadians' perceptions of the two problems were out of whack with
those figures, the study found.

It said that while only 25 per cent of Canadians identified alcohol
abuse as "very serious" national problem, 45 per cent felt illicit
drug use was "very serious."

"The divergence between the perceived seriousness and actual costs
points to the need to reset public misconceptions about the size and
scope of illicit drug abuse in Canada, especially injection drug use,
and to better educate Canadians about the significant and largely
unrecognized risks of alcohol," Rita Notarandrea, the centre's
director of research and policy, said.

The report comes after the minority Conservative government, building
on its law-and-order agenda, announced plans in its March 19 budget to
spend $64 million over the next two years to combat the use of illegal
drugs.

Gerald Thomas, one of the authors, said illicit drug use is a
significant drain on the Canadian economy. But he said policy-markers
should not exclude alcohol from any stepped up strategy to combat drug
abuse.

"We are suggesting that, given the costs that we're looking at, what
the costs are to society, that alcohol should not be left out."

Mr. Thomas said a 2002 study sponsored by the centre showed that in
crimes involving substance abuse, alcohol tends to have more of a
correlation with violent crime than illicit drugs do.