Voce, Alexandra and Sullivan, Tom (2022) What are the monetary returns of investing in programs that reduce demand for illicit drugs? Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, 657. https://doi.org/10.52922/ti78733.
External website: https://www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi/tandi657
This study reviews benefit–cost analyses of programs designed to reduce demand for illicit drugs. Data were synthesised from 67 benefit–cost analyses of prevention, law enforcement and treatment programs. Eighty percent of the 70 separate benefit–cost ratios exceeded 1.0, indicating that savings outweighed costs among most programs reviewed. Benefit–cost ratios ranged from −18.20 to 63.32, varying substantially for different program types and populations. On average, demand reduction programs produced a return on investment of $5.40 for every dollar spent. These findings suggest demand reduction programs are generally economical.
J Health care, prevention, harm reduction and treatment > Prevention programme or service
J Health care, prevention, harm reduction and treatment > Health care economics
MP-MR Policy, planning, economics, work and social services > Policy > Policy on substance use > Demand reduction policy
MP-MR Policy, planning, economics, work and social services > Programme planning, implementation, and evaluation > Programme and budget analysis (cost benefit)
MP-MR Policy, planning, economics, work and social services > Economic policy
VA Geographic area > Australia and Oceania > Australia
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