Issues and Methods in Evaluating Costs, Benefits, and Cost-Effectiveness of Drug Abuse Prevention Programs for High-Risk Youth

The abuse of licit and illicit drugs [“drugs” throughout this chapter refers to tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs] has placed an extraordinary burden on the Nation’s health, human service, and criminal justice systems (Rice 1991; National Institute of Justice 1993). Alcohol, a licit drug, is misused by more Americans than any other drug. A smaller number of Americans use illicit drugs, but the consequences of this use are far reaching because, in part, of the violence associated with the illicit drug trade. When considering the high rates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and the burden of lost productivity among drug users, the social and economic costs of drug abuse to the individual and to society are staggering.