Cost of American Heroin Use: $51 Billion

(Fall 2017) In 2015 the price tag of U.S. heroin use surged to a staggering $51 billion. These expenses encompass heroin-associated criminal justice system costs as well as the price of treatment for addiction and communicable diseases spread through heroin use, such as hepatitis B and C, tuberculosis and HIV. Other costs include those associated with lowered workplace productivity, overdose fatalities and treatment for opioid-addicted newborns.

It’s thought that about one million U.S. residents use heroin, costing society an average of $50,799 per heroin user.

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