Drug users cost NZ $1.8B annually - MoH report

(File)
(File)

Each drug addict incurs a cost to society of tens of thousands of dollars every year, according to this year's edition of the Ministry of Health-commissioned Drug Harm Index (DHI).

The index estimates that the social cost of drug-related harm and intervention came at a social cost of $1.8 billion in 2014/15, with dependent drug users each year accounting for a whopping $33,800.

Casual drug users are estimated to incur a social cost of around $2300 per person each year.

The suffering endured by family and friends of drug users is believed to amount to an enormous cost of $438 million a year.

The Government needs to stump up eight times the amount it is currently to cover the cost of drug use, the report suggests.

"The DHI estimates that the Government is spending at least $230 million each year to address a $1.8 billion problem," a summary of the report on the Ministry of Health's website reads.

However, the report suggests that due to the varying amount government agencies report their spending on drug-related matters, the expenditure may actually be significantly higher.

For the first time in a DHI, the cost of drug-related crime is estimated -- with tax avoidance on illegal drug revenue, the crime that costs New Zealand the most to combat, at $254 million.

That is followed by crime committed to fund drug use at $140 million, and the use of proceeds from drug trafficking to become involved in other forms of crime at $70 million.

The DHI calculates the social cost of drug use by taking into account three components:

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