Foreword Alan I. Leshner, Ph.D. Drug abuse and addiction are among the most pressing health and social issues facing our Nation, posing serious health risks and often tragic consequences for those who are afflicted and for their families and communities. Although extraordinary progress has been made in understanding these disorders and in finding the best ways to prevent and treat them, unfortunately, research on drug abuse and addiction related to women (more…)

Medicaid-paid medical, mental health, and long-term care costs are significantly lower for persons addicted to opiates who participate in methadone treatment, compared to opiate addicts who remain untreated.1 These cost offsets can be interpreted as costs avoided for clients already receiving treatment, and as potential savings that might be realized by treating the untreated. ???? The average net cost offset is $765 per person per month for methadone treatment for (more…)

INTRODUCTION the purpose of this paper is to outline the major issues facing the provision of mental health services and addiction treatment in Canada, to present potential policy options to address some of these issues, and to launch a public debate to enable Canadians to provide input on how the issues should be addressed. Two companion reports are being released, along with this Issues and Options paper, that summarize the background material used in the preparation (more…)