What about the 30 million Americans who are addicted

As the senate and house representatives finalize what many consider to be the largest effort in history to turn around a failing economy I hope portions of their proposed relief will be designated to help those 30 plus million Americans who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. These addicted citizens are sons and daughters of our nation as well as potential bread winners and societal contributors if they recover from their addiction. At present these individuals represent major expenditures on state mandated programs that don't work, incarceration expenses that are astronomical and welfare expenses that boggle the mind.

The majority, around 97% of those addicted in the U.S. don't receive addiction treatment resources. Instead they continue to use and abuse drugs and alcohol which in turn means a continuation of wrongful deaths due to DWI accidents, crimes perpetrated to get money for their substance of abuse and welfare due to their inability to maintain employment. In this time of cut backs it should be noted that providing quality addiction treatment to those in need would ultimately cost amazing less money than the alternative we currently experience.

Barrack Obama is pushing ahead diligently with the economic stimulus package and, of course, there are screaming demands on every dollar being allocated. The home market, the loss of many of our nation's major corporations and unemployment numbers not seen in many years. Still, the fact that 1 in 10 Americans use and/or abuse drugs or alcohol is an overwhelmingly brutal reality that President Obama will have to face and the economic stimulus package is a key method of starting to address this dire issue.