The societal costs of methamphetamine use in Western Cape Province

Methamphetamine (meth) use results in various costs accruing to the meth user, society, and government. Internal and external costs of the pandemic are widespread, affecting the healthcare and social welfare systems, policing, private security, and the judicial and corrective services system. This study quantifies these costs for the Western Cape; identifying the magnitude of the cost of illness and additional social costs by category and determines which interventions are likely to reduce these overall costs. This study used a combination of a top-down and a bottom-up approach for the costing of various categories. The meth prevalence rate used was derived from the number of primary meth users who sought meth treatment in 2013 as reported to SACENDU. Additional data on expenditure and costs were obtained from government annual reports, personal interviews and data from previous studies.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

School of Economics

Year dc:date.issued

2016

Author dc:creator

• Darsamo, Arnalda Vanessa

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Van Walbeek, Corne
• Ross, Hana

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20849

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/20849