Treating Drug and Alcohol Abuse in Oregon Could Cost $7 Billion

The report’s release, on May 18, comes as a legislative task force weighs a bump in alcohol taxes.

A pint of beer. (Michael Raines)
By Lucas Manfield

Two weeks ago, the state quietly published a final estimate of the cost to close the gaps in Oregon’s drug and alcohol treatment system. It’s a staggering number, $6.85 billion a year, vastly more than the half billion or so state agencies currently spend.

Most of the new spending would go to the cost of employing, and training, the workforce needed to staff the new programs.

“The cost estimates provided in this analysis are undeniably high,” the report’s authors note, and recommend the state figure out how to optimize its existing spending—or find new sources of funding.

The report was written by Public Consulting Group at the behest of the Oregon Health Authority, which state legislators asked to study the issue in 2021.

The report’s release, on May 18, comes as a legislative task force weighs a bump in alcohol taxes. There’s an alternative, the report notes, to drumming up the money: eliminate the kicker, which could return up to $5.6 billion in tax payments to Oregonians this year.

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