AUGUSTA – A study given to lawmakers last week estimates the economic cost of alcohol and drug abuse in Maine was $618 million in 2000, but makes no recommendations on what to do about the problem. That concerns some lawmakers.

The study is a mix of actual expenditures with estimates of costs. Substance abuse expenditures and alcohol and drug abuse-related medical costs are the “hardest” numbers, Kim Johnson, director of the Office of Substance Abuse, said. The study estimates the cost of substance abuse to the criminal justice system, the child welfare system and the more indirect costs of lost productivity from death or missing work.

“The biggest numbers are from loss of productivity, “Johnson said Friday. “We were conservative in our approach to estimating these costs.”

Maybe too conservative, state Sen. Michael Brennan, D-Portland, co-chairman of the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee, said Friday. He was co-chairman of a 1998 study group that estimated the economic costs at $1.2 billion.

“I don’t think the difference between the numbers means the cost has decreased,” he said. ” I think we need to find out the differences in the way the estimates were made.”

Johnson said the instructions to her staff were to use the “most conservative” approach in making all of the estimates.

She described the numbers from the 1998 report as “almost coming out of thin air,” so she ordered this study to provide more reliable estimates.

“The importance of the number is to give a dimension to the issues of substance abuse in Maine, “Brennan said. “I don’t think the Legislature or the public recognizes the full economic impact of substance abuse on the state.”

State Sen. Carol Weston, R-Montville, also serves on the legislative committee. While it is important to recognize the economic impact of substance abuse, it should be accompanied by recommendations to address the problems, she said on Friday.

“We can say yes, indeed, this is costing us, and maybe it is a billion dollars,” she said. “But is all we’re going to do is to lament it? Where is the plan to address the problem?”

Brennan said there were many recommendations for a wide range of prevention and treatment programs proposed in the 1998 study. The study listed 43 recommendations, with funding coming from an increase in the taxes on beer, wine and spirits. He also expressed concern the new study lacked any recommendations to address the problem.

“We got nowhere with that,” he said. “The liquor lobby killed any effort to increase revenues. The liquor lobby is very powerful at the State House, and they were very effective.”

Weston said before lawmakers look to raising taxes, they need to make sure the existing funding for substance abuse programs is being well spent. Weston doubts that is the case.

“I have told Kim [Johnson] that I am very concerned that some of the things they have spent money on has been a waste of money,” she said. “Whatever the real number is for economic impact, we have a serious problem that needs to be addressed.”

Brennan said the problem of substance abuse has been plaguing Maine for a very long time. He said the state needs to spend more resources on both prevention and treatment and that the 1998 study provided several suggestions for addressing the problem.

The single largest economic impact from substance abuse in 2000 was from the 541 deaths. The study estimated those deaths added up to 11,738 years of potential life lost. That loss of economic productivity was estimated at $140.3 million, nearly a quarter of the total cost of substance abuse measured in the study.

Lost productivity from substance abuse was estimated at $97.4 million in the study. Workers skipping work or arriving late because they were hung over from drinking the night before was cited as an example of factors used in determining lost productivity.

“We did not measure the indirect impact on businesses, although we know they are there,” Johnson said. “When other workers have to pick up the slack or a business has to pay overtime, [those] are impacts, but we did not estimate them.”

Medical care costs attributable to substance abuse were set at $113 million in the study, and another $19.3 million was identified as the cost of providing substance abuse treatment in 2000. That was derived from 16,706 admissions to treatment programs.

The cost to the criminal justice system was estimated at $128.4 million. More than a third of all the assault arrests in 2000 were related to alcohol or drug abuse. Since 2000, Johnson said, there has been an increase in drug related property crimes. She said police have reported more thefts to fund drug habits than was the case in 2000.

“I am not sure what change there has been, but we have a lot of anecdotal information that it is a growing problem,” she said.

The study also included a catchall category that totaled $119.6 million. More than half of that was attributed to additional child welfare costs because of substance abuse. The other large component in the category is the nonmedical cost of alcohol-related motor vehicle accidents, pegged at $41.7 million.

Brennan said the study would be one topic he wants the committee to review at its next meeting.