Economic Burden

 

As of 2013, 150,000 people are reported to be receiving prescribed opiate substitutes in the UK, at an annual cost of £15 billion to the NHS.

 

However, opioid substitute treatment is not the only cost on the NHS. The charity Addiction, reported in 2008 that each person dependent on illegal drugs costs the UK £44,000 each year in medical treatment and crime related problems. It is believed that those using heroin and/or cocaine are responsible for between a third and half of all acquisitive crime nationally. The direct costs of processing drug users through the criminal justice system come to £2.6 billion a year (including prison stays, court appearances and processing after arrest).