Premium Essay

The Business of Substance Abuse

In:

Submitted By bsrn1999
Words 1551
Pages 7
The business of drug Abuse abuse
Bonnie S
Western Governors University

Abstract
What is the economic cost of substance abuse and addiction? The estimates are shocking in the hundreds of billions of dollars every year. Yes, that’s right…. not hundreds of millions, but hundreds of billions of dollars. Illicit drug use alone accounts for 181 billion dollars per year in health care, productivity loss, crime, incarceration, and drug enforcement. Alcohol addiction accounts for approximately the same amount also. ("Molecules to Managed Care," 2008) So how do we deal with such an enormous problem? We can’t ignore problems of such a monumental financial impact to our country. We spend so much on damage control from the result of addiction and so very little on prevention. How can we turn this around to change these numbers and positively affect our society? Early intervention and treatment are the only way to combat these staggering numbers. In 2010 23 million Americans, age 12 or older, identified as having substance abuse issues and only 2.6 million received treatment at specialty facilities in 2009. Why are so few seeking treatment?
Keywords: SBIRT, SAMHSA, abuse, addiction, ED, ONDCP, NIDA, ACA

The business of drug Abuse
There is an enormous amount of money spent in this country on dealing with the aftermath of substance abuse and addiction. What are we doing to prevent this disease? If we recognize that addiction to drugs and alcohol is a disease then what is our plan for prevention and early intervention? How does this disease start?
Primary socialization first occurs during our childhood. It is when we learn the attitudes, values and actions appropriate to individuals as members of a particular culture. Sociology recognizes the family as an institution and unit of socialization (Lopez, Martinez, Martin, Martin, & Scandroglio, 2001). Primary

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Current Events in Business Research

...Current Events in Business Research RES/351 February 29, 2016 Current Events in Business Research For the purpose of this paper, we were asked to select an article in the University Library that contains a research study in a functional area of our own job or a functional area we desire to be a part of someday. My intended field will be in mental health counseling; specifically, substance abuse counseling. I came through many years in active addiction. Overcoming those years led to my passion for the field in which I have chosen to embrace. I have selected to write based on an article from the ProQuest Psychology Journals entitled, “Social Workers Employed in Substance Abuse Treatment Agencies: A Training Needs Assessment,” (Hall, Amodeo, Shaffer, Vander Bilt, 2000). Improving upon this growing profession and identifying areas of weakness are key. In the pages to follow, I will identify the research problem, the method used, how the research has solved the problem, and other potential applications for this research within functional and related areas. Identifying the Research Problem and Method Used Business research, as we use it in our text, is a systematic inquiry that provides information to guide managerial decisions. More specifically, it is a process of planning, acquiring, analyzing, and disseminating relevant data, information, and insights to decision makers in ways that mobilize the organization to take appropriate actions that, in...

Words: 1173 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Corporate War on Drug Abuse

...The Corporate War on Drug Abuse Presented to Wendy Keller Concordia University John Molson School of Business Comm 212 Section E Prepared by Bilal Sirhan Human Resource Specialist 6355099 November 24th, 2014 MEMORANDUM To: Human resources manager From: Bilal Sirhan, Human resource specialist Subject: Analysis of different policies for alcohol and drug abuse in the workplace Date: November 24th 2014 Here is the report, which was to be completed by November 24th 2014, concerning leading companies’ exemplary policies on substance abuse within the workplace. The study involved analyzing the different substances used by workers and evaluating different approaches that companies across North America take to help these individuals. Although the results presented show that a small percentage of people are actually considered as substance abusers in the workforce, there is evidence that the corporations succumbing to employees abusing drugs and alcohol suffer heavy losses. This even directly affects the economy as a whole in significant numbers. Therefore, we must establish a strong policy and different programs to help these workers overcome this issue. It is my hope that this report will allow our company to have the necessary information to establish the right strategies and support groups to anyone suffering from substance abuse. Please let me know if there are any further questions...

Words: 2997 - Pages: 12

Premium Essay

Substance Abuse

...Psychology and health issues with Substance Abuse Sherry Ramos Resurreccion HCA/250 03/02/2014 Tiffany Hanshaw Psychology and health issues with Substance Abuse A psychological education program that we have here in our community is a program at our local Hospital. Our local hospital Sutter Delta Hospital has a Substance Abuse program. They provide information about substance abuse and they work with the largest treatment center in Northern California called the Impulse Treatment Center. The Impulse Treatment Center provides resources such as where they can go for group therapy, extended care, long treatment care, and intensive out patient care. This program is not a free program however your insurance company may cover it. When deciding to use this program we should learn more about being a healthy and learning the signs of someone who is unhealthy and need treatment. When you are healthy, you are free from any sickness/illness, you feel good about yourself, and your body is physically fit. When you are healthy it also means that you feel positive mentally and physically. The relationship between health and Psychology go hand in hand because in order to have a healthy life you should be physically healthy but you should also feel mentally stable. If you are not mentally stable it will make an impact on your over all health. Some people who are psychologically not stable will become ill because they may decide that they do not want to eat, they seclude themselves from...

Words: 1645 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

Search

...IMPACT IN THE BUSINESS Substance abuse is a hard problem to eradicate in any business setting, but it can be particularly difficult to address in small business settings. After all, many small business owners develop close—or at least friendly—relationships with their employees because they often work together on projects and share smaller work areas. "Because many small business owners have one-on-one relationships with each employee, dealing with an employee who is addicted to alcohol or drugs is a personal as well as a personnel problem," wrote Barbara Mooney in Crain's Cleveland Business. But substance abuse experts and business researchers alike warn that substance abuse problems are not the sort of problems that tend to go away by themselves. Rather, they often continue to grow and fester, further strangulating the business's productivity and profitability. Indeed, substance abuse often ends up being a tremendous drain on a company's fiscal well-being. This drain takes many forms, including decreased productivity, increased absences, rising numbers of accidents, use of sick leave, and jumps in workers' compensation claims. Indeed, HR Focus reported in 1997 that "alcohol and drug abusers are absent from work two-and-a-half times more frequently than nonusers; they use three times the amount of sick leave as nonusers; their worker's compensation claims are five times higher; and they are generally less productive." This latter factor—what HR Focus termed "the less dramatic...

Words: 329 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

The Drinking World

...effect, stress C). How EAP can help the employee and the worker under the influence. llll. Random testing A) Protecting the employers assets B) Approaching the worker under the influence C) Information and educational training lV.Conclusion Businesses today need to realize that there is a growing problem with alcohol and substance abuse in the work place. In the business world today there is a very common problem that occurs with workers in the work place. Alcohol and substance abuse. You wouldn’t think that this is a serious problem, but do you know if the person that’s working next to you is under the influence? Drinking among workers can threaten public safety, impair your job performance and also cause injury to yourself or others. Absenteeism, lost production, lateness are other impaired factors when it comes to drinking or being under the influence at work. Alcohol and other substances can damage you physically and mental. Risk management is a process of recognizing situations which have the potential to cause harm to people or property. Many factors have possibly contributed to alcohol and substance abuse in the work place. Greif, health...

Words: 749 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Substance Abuse In Starke County

...(Indiana Business Research Center, n.d.) . In addition to these three towns, there are three census-designated places such as Bass Lake and twelve unincorporated communities such as Toto. According to the United States Census Bureau the estimated population of Starke County in 2015 is 22,958 (United States Census Bureau, 2015). Starke County is a predominately...

Words: 935 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

High Times in the Workplace

...High Times in the Workplace High Times in the Workplace Substance abuse in the workplace is an issue with far-reaching effects across America that can drive up employer costs, and increase occupational hazards in many industries. While results of recent studies appear to be showing a decline in the overall drug use of American workers, the use of harder drugs such as heroin and prescription painkillers in the workplace is growing rapidly (Fisher, 2011). As employees everywhere are faced with this dilemma, many are looking at ways to address, prevent, and reduce its impact on operations and employee productivity. Positivity Results of Workplace Drug Tests It has been shown that over the last 25 years, drug use among American workers has steadily declined. The Quest Diagnostics Drug Testing Index analysis examined over 125 million urine drug tests as a service for government and private employers from 1988 to 2012. This examined the positivity rates for employers across the United States workforce in both the public and private sector. Since 1988, the positivity rate for the combined U.S. Workforce declined 74% from 13.6% in 1988 to 3.5% in 2012. This result is encouraging for employers; however, the study also revealed some findings that are cause for concern. The positivity rates for amphetamines and methamphetamines have more than tripled over the last decade. As of 2012, this was at its highest level since 1997. Also concerning is that the positivity...

Words: 898 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Smoking Cost of Treatment in the Us

...Business Issue: In the U.S. there are lot of underage drinkers/smokers and those who do drugs. The cost for treatment for substance abuse and alcoholism is approximately $1B. What could be done to reduce these costs for the insurance company? 1. Figure out what is the breakdown of the costs incurred for these treatments. At which level do we spend the most money? Where can we spend the least? Depending on the breakdown, we can address each area individually. For e.g., a. Inpatient Acute Detoxification, b. Inpatient Acute Rehabilitation, c. Substance Abuse Residential Treatment Detoxification, d. Substance Abuse Residential Treatment, e. Substance Abuse Partial Hospitalization Program, f. Substance Abuse Intensive Structured Outpatient Program and g. Outpatient Treatment. This way, by building programs of interventions at various levels of, we can make sure the patient in treated at the earliest. The overall cost of treatment can thus be reduced. 2. Plan better rehabilitation programs. Estimate the cost of quarterly or semi-annually conducting drug tests for addicts, to make sure they follow the regimen and are totally off the drugs or alcohol. The amount of money that can be saved for treating those who have past records of substance abuse. 3. Incentivizing those who do not have any alcohol related ailments in the form of lesser progressive premiums. 4. Increase premiums if a member’s health is compromised due...

Words: 456 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Drug Addiction Treatment Center Research Paper

...dependent, and/or alcoholic, by helping to develop methods for avoiding and/or managing addiction & symptom manifestations. (Marlatt & Donovan, 2005). Substance Abuse Treatment Substance Abuse Treatment Center provides health services to all members of the local community, to include, low income seniors, families and children, veterans, homeless, and the mentally disabled, formerly incarcerated, and recovering substance abuse users. The organization is departmentalization based on regions and services provided. This allows for advantages, such as, specialization, fixed responsibility, better...

Words: 906 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Economics of Substance Abuse

...research, and conclusions on the effectiveness of substance abuse treatment programs are numerous. However, there does not appear to be a single answer or even a manageable set of solutions for how to effectively and efficiently treat those suffering the ill effects of substance abuse. This paper aims to make the case that the most effective way to deal with this problem is to attack it at the source, by trying to eliminate, or at the very least disrupt, the supply of illicit drugs available for purchase and consumption. The attempt to make this case is done by pointing out the mixed results of previous substance abuse treatment programs and by using systems theory to explain why the complexity of treatment options makes it difficult to accurately evaluate such programs. The Economic Impact on Substance Abuse The effect of substance abuse on the United States economy is astronomical. Consider that in 2004, almost a tenth of the nation’s population ages 12 and older were classified with substance abuse or dependence disorders (Morgan & Crane, 2010). The issue is so complex, in fact, it is nearly impossible to put an accurate price tag on the impact. If one focuses solely on the economic impact of this epidemic, one would have to calculate numerous costs. People who abuse and are addicted to illicit drugs spend hundreds and thousands of dollars to feed their habit, which is money that could be spent in more productive ways. Substance abusers often steal to fund their habit, which...

Words: 2958 - Pages: 12

Premium Essay

Prescription Drug Abuse Concept Analysis

...Prescription drug abuse is becoming more problematic in today’s society. So problematic, that Healthy People 2020 created an initiative, SA-19, to help decrease non-medical prescription drug abuse (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “n.d.”). To better help understand the problem of prescription drug abuse, one must explore related concepts. This paper will analyze the related concept of dependence. Prescription drug abuse may lead to dependence. Dependence can be applied to other disciplines. Understanding dependence better to help decrease this incidence may in turn decrease prescription drug abuse. Concept analysis is meant to help define the concept so that everyone shares a common language (Walker & Avant, 2005). According...

Words: 1611 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Organizing

...organization that assists women in recovering from chemical dependency as well as the fallout of emotional scarring, sexual abuse, and homelessness associated with addiction (Frost, 2010). Located in San Antonio, Texas the organization was founded by Hulene Dempsy in 1966. Alpha Home has grown from being able to house only 10 women to its current capacity of 47 (Alpha Home, 2009). To operate a nonprofit organization successfully requires relationships with similar organizations, knowledge of state regulations, and a keen empathy for the client. Understanding finance is also essential for the success of Alpha Home and often the facets of knowledge and finance are inseparable as they mutually exist. Alpha Home is successful in part because of its knowledge in developing relationships with other nonprofit organizations. Collaboration with other entities that provide services to the patient allows Alpha Home to conserve monies otherwise spent on similar services. Because the organization primarily treats indigent women, who in addition to substance abuse treatment require services such as mental health counseling, trauma counseling, HIV and AIDS testing with subsequent counseling and dental assistance. Partnerships with other agencies called a “memorandum of understanding” have proven to be necessary to meet the basic needs of the patients. According to Business Dictionary (2010), “a memorandum of understanding (MOU) is a document that expresses mutual accord on an issue between...

Words: 1390 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Counseling Field

...become an alcohol or substance abuse counselor can be a very rewarding but stressful occupation. It takes a special person who has compassion, patience and a genuine desire to help people. After completion of the required educational curriculum, there are many organizations that one could look to find opportunities to work with people in need. Also, there are being familiar with the different organization out there that make up the addiction-counseling field will be vital to a the success of the counselor-client relationship. This essay will discuss the different organizations out there that offer support for the counselor and the client. The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism is on the organizations that make up the National Institute of Health. It is the largest contributor to research on the effects of alcohol in the world. The NIAAA teams up with science professional to conduct research that shows the correlations between alcohol and genetics, neuroscience, epidemiology and prevention and treatment. The NIAAA conducts studies with other treatment facilities and federal programs on issues related to alcohol abuse. T also helps with the implementation and interpretations of the results of research on the federal, state and local levels. Researchers can apply for the National Research Service Award program for grants to continue their works for better treatment possibilities. A trade association is a group of business that works together in...

Words: 1117 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Business Proposal - Probuphine

...Business Proposal Substance Abuse in the United States has a detrimental impact on society. Some estimates reported by NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) state that the total overall cost in 2012 of substance abuse in the U.S, including productivity, health related costs, and crime related costs are upwards of $600 billion each year (NIDA, 2012). Illicit substances alone exceed $193 billion annually (NIDA, 2012). Illicit substance abuse carries with it significant destruction for the economy and society, including; unemployment, divorce, foster care for children in homes of addicted individuals, domestic abuse, child abuse, overcrowding of prison systems, and the list goes on and on (NIDA, 2012). This business proposal presents a new medication called Probuphine created to assist individuals fighting the battle against opioid addiction. The market structure and elasticity of the product is discussed throughout the proposal, with a specialized focus on the rationale for pricing related to the elasticity or non-elasticity of the product. Marginal cost and marginal revenue are analyzed as the proposal progresses and non-pricing strategies are evaluated to choose which strategy is the optimal choice for the success of the business. Last, the fixed and variable costs associated with the production of the medication are determined and discussed. Many people believe that addiction is something that can be controlled by will power or choices, but in fact, research shows that addiction...

Words: 1305 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Substance Abuse

...Substance Abuse Kyra Prall HCA/250 3/3/2013 Marie Smith Substance Abuse Using drugs started in the early centuries. Smoking tobacco became popular after Christopher Columbus discovered the positive affects of smoking tobacco leaves. Alcohol was seen as a gift from God, and other drugs stemmed from thrill seekers trying different chemicals and natural substances for pleasure. When using drugs frequently a psychological and physical dependence occurs due to the pleasure and relief assoaciated with drug use. Drug use is most commonly started through peer pressure, model observation, and advertisement. The use of tobacco is commonly started in the early 20’s of an adult. There are a number of reasons why people may start to smoke tobacco. As a child growing up, children may see their parents or older siblings smoking cigarettes making them want to try it. As children grow into young adults, they are either pressured into smoking cigarettes or they see their favorite role models smoking cigaerretes. Teenagers usually view cigarettes as the cool thing to do and start becoming regular smoker in the early 20’s. At this age many people have higher risk factors such as having kids, not graduating from college, low paying jobs, or problems with their appearance. Although cigarettes may have a positive feeling as far as calming the person, or realiving stress, there are also negative factors. A persons health is damaged by cigarettes. The nicotine in the cigarette causes psychological...

Words: 731 - Pages: 3