THE ECONOMICS OF ADDICTIVE BEHAVIOURS VOLUME III The Private and Social Costs of the Abuse of Illicit Drugs and Their Remedies John Joshua The Economics of Addictive Behaviours Volume III John Joshua The Economics of Addictive Behaviours Volume III The Private and Social Costs of the Abuse of Illicit Drugs and Their Remedies John Joshua Deakin University Melbourne VIC, Australia ISBN 978-3-319-59137-7 ISBN 978-3-319-59138-4 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-59138-4 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016954960 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017 This work is subject to copyright. 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Contents 1 Introduction 1 2 Causes of the Abuse of Illicit Drugs 7 3 The Consequences of the Use of Illicit Drugs and Their Associated Private and Social Costs 19 4 The Use of Illicit Drugs and the Quality of Life 33 5 The Prevention and Treatment of the Abuse of Illicit Drugs 53 6 Economic Policies to Reduce the Abuse of Illicit Drugs 71 7 The Legal Framework of the Abuse of Illicit Drugs 81 8 Conclusion 109 vii viii Contents Bibliography 115 Index 131 1 Introduction Abstract This is the third volume of a four-part series on addictive behavior and specifically deals with illicit drugs. The pathways from initiation to drug abuse toward chronic and acute diseases and the process of addiction to illicit drugs will be explored. This requires a multi-disciplinary approach as the causes, consequences, and remedies of drug abuse as a behavioral disease are multi-disciplinary in origin. An in-depth psychological analysis of the relationship of drug use and the quality of life is followed with an analysis of the possible treatment of drug abuse and possible economic and legal remedies. The conse- quences of present policies are explored, and a possible alternative viable legal framework is discussed. Finally, a proposal for a regulated market for drugs is made. Keywords Addictive behavior · Behavioral disease · Multi-disciplinary approach · Objective and subjective quality of life · Quality of life and drug use · Rational decision model · Regulated market This is the third volume of a four-part series on addictive behavior. This third volume specifically addresses the economics of addictive behavior © The Author(s) 2017 1 J. Joshua, The Economics of Addictive Behaviours Volume III, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-59138-4_1 2 1 Introduction of illicit drugs in contrast to licet drugs such as nicotine and alcohol which have been dealt with in volume one and two, respectively. Like all four volumes on the behavioral diseases, this volume takes on a multi-disciplinary approach; hence, it not only includes an analysis of the private and social costs, but provides an extensive analysis of the causes of drug abuse and possible remedies. The use of drugs, whether they are licit or illicit, may be regarded as a social ritual for many consumers; however, such ritualistic behav- ior may eventually become addictive. Most drug users are addicted to legal drugs, not illegal drugs, and most drug abusers die from the use of legal drugs. The use of illicit drugs may include cannabis, cocaine, her- oin, and it may also include the inappropriate use of prescription drugs which include pain relievers, sedatives, or tranquilizers when they are being overprescribed or when they are not used correctly according to prescriptions for medical conditions. However, this volume of addictive behaviors deals with illicit drugs as commonly understood. This volume begins with the causes and the consequences of the abuse of illicit drugs, followed up with a psychological analysis of the use of illicit drugs and quality of life and an analysis of the prevention and treatment of the abuse of illicit drugs. Subsequently, economic poli- cies to reduce the abuse of illicit drugs will be discussed followed with an analysis of the legal framework of the abuse of illicit drugs, includ- ing an analysis of the consequences of the present policies, a description of an alternative viable legal framework, and a proposal for a regulated market for drugs. The first chapter provides a succinct outline of following chapters of this book. Chapter 2 describes the causes of the abuse of illicit drugs as a behavioral disease. This chapter analyzes the initiation to drug abuse and will describe various personal characteristics which may make indi- viduals become vulnerable to the abuse of drugs. Subsequently, a discus- sion of the pathways from initiation toward chronic and acute diseases and the process of addiction to illicit drugs will follow. Chapter 3 addresses the consequences of the use of illicit drugs and their associated private and social costs. This chapter begins with a description of the physical and psychological effects of the use of various illicit drugs. The social consequences of the use of illicit drugs will be 1 Introduction 3 addressed next in detail, including the private and social costs of illicit drug abuse, in particular the costs to health, family life, education, and the increase in the level of crime. Finally, the economic consequences of drug abuse will also be addressed in detail. Chapter 4 explores the relationship between the use of illicit drugs and quality of life in detail. Individuals’ state and trait happiness and unhappiness are related to their consequential usage of drugs. It is argued that the taking of drugs may lead toward an increase in short- term happiness which, however, fast dissipates and then is followed with an increase in the use of drugs to recover again the state of happiness, and so may create a reinforcing cycle of state and trait happiness and unhappiness. The chapter on the use of illicit drugs and quality of life will begin with a detailed discussion on the distinction between objective quality of life and subjective well-being and will then proceed toward an analy- sis of psychosocial maladjustment and drug abuse; life events, quality of life, and drug abuse; attributional style of life and drug abuse; attri- butional style, self-esteem, and the outcome of treatment programs; self-esteem and self-deception and finally will address the topic of attri- butional style, coping style, and quality of life. After the detailed analysis of the use of illicit drugs and quality of life, a description of various programs of prevention and treatment of drug abuse together with an analysis of their effectiveness will then fol- low in Chap. 5. Programs of harm minimization are also discussed as a viable option to minimize the problem of drug abuse. The creation of special drug courts may be seen as an alternative to the more common present criminal justice system to enable the integration of the judicial and criminal justice system together with the treatment of drug abuse and rehabilitation. The abuse of drugs is seen here primarily as a health issue, rather than just as a criminal issue, so that the overcoming of addiction and treat- ment are seen as vital preconditions before the demand for drugs can be reduced. Various rehabilitation programs may be used to increase drug abusers’ self-efficacy. Hence, treatment of drug abuse and reha- bilitation such as methadone maintenance programs, the heroin main- tenance scheme, and the buprenorphine treatments are discussed.