Does drug addiction affect people of a higher income more than individuals with a lower income? Before we delve into this question I’m going to use my personal experience of someone who has struggled with addiction, and has been through treatment.

In order to really look at this from every angle, we’re going to touch on 3 points of interest:

1.) Drugs cost money. Many of them can be very expensive for everyday use.

2.) People who have struggled with drugs or alcohol are generally younger.

3.) People who successfully recover from drug addiction enter treatment. Some of these centers offer free rehabilitation and others are private pay or insurance based.

These three issues factor into whether or not addiction affects people of a lower economic class, or an individual who is better off financially.

Drugs Aren’t Cheap

The first and probably most important factor to look at regarding whether or not drug abuse is more susceptible to a higher income bracket or lower income bracket is that drugs cost money. Some drugs cost more than others, and some drugs are a reduced version of pure drug to make it more accessible and cheaper.

For instance, powdered cocaine is considered an upper class, expensive drug, while crack cocaine is considered a cheap form of cocaine, used by people who can’t afford pure cocaine and want a quick, intense high. In most inner cities you can pull up on any corner and purchase crack, but cocaine, not so much.

Though, people of all economic statuses use crack, I know people whom I met in rehab, who owned large companies and made millions of dollars and lost everything because of an addiction to crack. A few of these people literally smoked houses, cars, jewelry and a million dollar a year salary…….GONE! There is nothing left except their parents love and bank account paying for them to go to a nice drug rehab in California.

Regarding this example of drugs costing money, I have to go with the person that has more money, can buy all the drugs he or she needs and doesn’t have financial loss as a means to stopping them from obtaining and using these drugs. That’s a very dangerous recipe.

Most People First Experiment In Their Teens

The second factor is most individuals abusing drugs or alcohol are younger. The average age the individual started to use drugs such as marijuana is 14. Of course, real drug addicts who are struggling generally are addicted to harder drugs like heroin, cocaine, prescription drugs, and alcohol. Regarding addiction and younger people, financial means are not as accessible to a younger individual as someone who is older with more money. So with a younger population abusing alcohol and drugs, the majority of people here would not have the financial means to consider them wealthy.

Private Pay Treatment And Free Rehabilitation

The third and final factor to consider regarding addiction and the individuals financial status is treatment. Most people who are able to overcome their addiction to drugs and alcohol have attended a drug or alcohol rehab program. Unfortunately most of the free and or government funded programs do not offer a high success rate.

Addicted individuals that attend privately funded treatment centers have a much better chance of quitting. This leaves the people who can’t afford rehab attending free programs which means that the vast majority of people who can’t pay for drug treatment, stay addicted and never overcome it.

Looking at this information, people that have financial means can buy more drugs but also have better solutions to addiction like effective treatment facilities. Non 12 step and holistic based rehabilitation programs for addiction provide the highest success rate, and are also usually some of the most expensive programs out there.

At DrugRehab.org, our goal is to help everyone who is struggling with drug or alcohol addiction. Contact us today to learn about which treatment is right for you.