ALCOHOL COSTS TWICE AS HIGH AS DRUG USE: STUDY

OTTAWA -- 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 a "very serious" national problem, 45 per cent felt illicit
drug use was "very serious."