August 2, 2007

Substance abuse costly

Impacts families and comes with high price tag

By Assemblymember Jim Beall
Special to the Times

Substance abuse is a significant problem in California. Aside from the devastating impacts it has on individuals and families, it also comes with a hefty price tag.

More than 70 percent of the costs of prison, parole, local criminal justice and child welfare are the result of untreated alcohol and other drug problems. In California, the estimated 2005 cost to society of alcohol and other drug abuse was over $44 billion. This estimate takes into consideration loss of productivity, health care costs, prevention and treatment costs, criminal justice costs and losses due to crime.

Effectively coordinating efforts to combat substance abuse is a challenge. Consequences of substance abuse extend across many governmental systems. While many state agencies and departments share the responsibility for addressing alcohol and other drug problems, there is no coordinated plan or service system that pulls those individual agencies and departments together in a coordinated way.

The prevalence of substance abuse across systems is compounded by the need for more education and prevention programs and the fact that the demand for treatment services is higher than the existing capacity.

This year, the California Speaker of the Assembly, Fabian Nuñez, approved the establishment of a Select Committee Drug and Alcohol Abuse and named me as the chair of the committee. The overall goal of the California Assembly Select Committee of Alcohol and Substance Abuse is to develop sound policies to effectively treat Californians suffering from substance abuse.

Over the course of the next 12 to 18 months, the select committee will convene a series of hearings to examine the depth of issues and develop a statewide comprehensive vision for the state to address alcohol and other drug problems in a comprehensive and coordinated manner.

On July 17, the Select Committee Drug and Alcohol Abuse held its first hearing. The purpose of the hearing was to provide select committee members an overview of the latest research on addiction. Special guest presenter Mark Stanford, PhD, medical and clinical services manager for the Santa Clara Valley Health & Hospital System, provided research-based evidence that drug addiction is a biologically based chronic disease characterized by fundamental and long-lasting changes in the brain.

As chair of the select committee, I firmly believe that the work of the select committee will lead to significant progress toward finding real solutions and reshaping California policy on substance abuse treatment. If you would like more information including when the next select committee hearing will be convened, please visit my Web site at www.democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a24/ or contact my office at (408) 282-8920.