A new report shows that the increased use in substance misuse in New Hampshire has cost the state more than $2.3 billion.
That's an uptick of more than half a billion dollars from four years ago, the last time this study was done.
If you break down this number – it comes out to $1,780 per New Hampshire resident every year.
That includes the cost of loss productivity, which makes up the largest economic impact. Then there’s the expense of increased arrests and policing as well as medical expenses.
Alone these impacts equate to more than 3 percent of the state’s gross state product.
On the upside – since 2012, when the last report was conducted, access to substance abuse treatment and insurance has improved.
New Futures, a drug and alcohol advocacy group, hired PolEcon Research to conduct the research for this report.
