Cost-Benefit Analyses of Investments to Control Illicit Substance Abuse and Addiction

This paper gives an overview of what is known concerning illicit drug control interventions’ “return on investment” performance from a social planner’s perspective. It is organized by broad type of intervention (supply control, prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and integration across intervention types). The discussion is primarily US-centric, with somewhat greater reliance on international literature vis a vis harm reduction.