A recent study concludes that society earns $7 in benefits for every $1 spent on addiction treatment, including savings on medical care, mental-health services, and welfare payments, increased employment, and reductions in criminal activity.

The report, "Benefit-Cost in the California Treatment Outcome Project: Does Substance Abuse Treatment 'Pay for Itself'?", estimated that the average stay in treatment cost $1,600 and yielded $11,500 in benefits during a nine-month study period. The latter included a $7,500 reduction in crime- and incarceration-related costs, and $3,400 in increased work earnings.

Outpatient treatment was estimated to have a benefits-to-cost ratio of 11:1, while inpatient treatment had an estimated 6:1 benefits-to-cost ratio.

"Even without considering the direct value to clients of improved health and quality of life, allocating taxpayer dollars to substance-abuse treatment may be a wise investment," the study concludes.

The study appears in the January 2006 issue of the journal Health Services Research.