Oregon Spent $1.5 Billion on Substance Use Services but Just 2.6% Went to Prevention, Report Finds

Despite evidence that every $1 invested in substance abuse primary prevention yields a $63 return, Oregon allocated just $39.1 million—only 2.6%—of the $1.5 billion it received to address the issue.

This has emerged from a recent Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission (ADPC) financial report confirming that Oregon spent $1.5 billion over the last two years on substance use services across 11 state agencies.

However, only $39.1 million (2.6%) went to community-based primary prevention, with the rest allocated to treatment programs.

The ADPC Sets Oregon Five Goals to Meet Prevention Strategies

The ADPC is now calling on the state to set a goal ‘of moving community-based primary prevention from under 3 percent to at least 20 percent over time, without cutting treatment, recovery or harm reduction.

The commission has made five proposals to rectify the situation.

• Create a dedicated prevention fund from the proceeds of distilled spirits.
• Commit a fixed share of flexible funds to prevention.
• Spend above the federal SUPTRS 20 percent minimum ($4.3 million).
• Build a prevention funding formula using youth data.
• Fund school districts so that they can meet their prevention mandates.

Oregon Schools and Vulnerable Youth Lack Support

A new legislatively mandated report found that most of the state’s school districts do not have a research-based plan to safeguard vulnerable youth from drug addiction, despite a law requiring them to do so.

The consultant’s assessment reveals that Oregon is not keeping adequate track of how substance abuse dollars are being spent, or whether the money is making a difference to the lives of young Oregonians.

Furthermore, they found that Oregon school districts received no funding to deliver drug prevention programs. Instead, the state’s Department of Education employed one person as a prevention coordinator and funded one campaign in the two years.

Only 65 of Oregon’s 197 public school districts responded to the questions for the legislatively mandated report, and only 19 school districts completed the required plan.

The report also states that the rate of substance abuse in Oregon is above the national average, with almost 21 percent aged 12 years and older meeting the substance use criteria, compared to 18 percent nationally.