Estimated costs for select countries are:
• United States: US$12.6 billion a year. Perpetrators have been estimated to consume
alcohol in 55% of cases.
• England & Wales: £5.7 billion in 2004, with an extra £17 billion estimated for
emotional costs to the victim. Perpetrators have been estimated to consume alcohol in 32%
of cases.
• Canada: US$1.1 billion a year (direct medical costs to women). Perpetrators in one
Canadian community had consumed alcohol in 43% of cases.
Impaired driving or operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or
both, are serious crimes and major contributors to death by motor vehicle in Canada.
Millions of dollars have been spent on awareness campaigns regarding the hazards of
drinking and driving, with organizations like MADD Canada promoting this message through
media and other outlets.
Each conviction for impaired driving carries stiff societal repercussions, and bears a carryover
impact on lost productivity, criminal justice costs, and incarceration if warranted.
Limiting alcoholic intake and/or refraining from driving while under the influence can reduce
this harm, as it is directly controllable. Long-standing roadside sobriety measurement
devices have been used to prosecute those who choose to drive impaired. Similar tests are
now being developed to monitor intoxication levels for cannabis use. Recent media reports
indicate no spike in impaired driving due to the legalization of cannabis.
With the 2018 decriminalization of cannabis use in Canada, it is reasonable to expect that
violations of the Controlled Substances Act will decline, and therefore, the overall harm
impact will also decline. Assuming many of those costs were incurred for minor possession
infractions, it is also reasonable to infer that a substantial portion of $1.8 billion in costs
incurred for criminal justice will be eliminated.
Considering data presented within this document, health care costs of alcohol are among
the largest financial harm impacts of consumption. Significant financial savings can also be
realized in lost productivity and criminal justice costs by offering cannabis-infused
beverages instead of alcohol.