VICE laid out the details using a study from Canada but converting the Canadian currency to the American based cost. The numbers are shocking. Active addicts and alcoholics can have a lot of arguments against getting sober. One thing they can’t argue against is that while treatment might be a short term cost, their return on investment for their recovery will be long term and they’ll be saving tons of money by switching from addiction to sobriety. Here are some of the financial breakdowns.
Cocaine users are paying an average of $60 a gram for their drug. Cocaine has always been a popular drug but saw a definite spike in popularity during the seventies disco-era. After the glamorous cocaine users of the seventies became the drug addicts of the eighties, a breakout of a crack epidemic spread through the eighties and nineties. Cocaine has always remained popular, oftentimes called a luxury drug because of how expensive it can be. For those addicted to cocaine, keeping up with enough drugs to stay away from detox and withdrawal can cost anywhere between $450 to $1200 a day.
An addiction to prescription medications is known to be expensive. Part of the reason the opioid epidemic has turned to a high level of heroin overdose deaths is because keeping up a pill addiction can be costly and heroin is cheaper. Hydromorphone and other forms of opioid painkillers can cost $3 for a pill or more. Needing high amounts of the drug, it can rack up $75 to hundreds of dollars a day. Heroin is cheaper than pills but an addict who has developed a high tolerance for heroin will need a consistent amount of it. Heroin ranges in cost depending on its purity, and who is selling it.
Lastly, an alcohol addiction can be costly as well. Eventually, most alcoholics give up their top-shelf life and reach for grocery store grade alcohol, often by the handle. While Vice lists that an alcohol addiction can cost $50 a day, it often costs more.
The true cost of addiction is the cost of your life. Addiction and alcoholism are fatal diseases which get progressively worse if they go untreated. Thankfully, recovery is also progressive. Let Lakehouse Recovery Center put you on the right path toward an enriching recovery experience. For information on our residential detox or inpatient programs, call us today at 877.762.3707.