Stories Related to Opioids Cost Washington $9 Billion In 2016

The opioid epidemic cost the state of Washington more than $9 billion in 2016, according to an analysis by the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Of that total economic cost, more than $7 billion comes from opioid-related deaths. The remaining $2 billion is attributed to health care costs, addiction treatment, criminal justice and lost productivity. “This new analysis shows just how much our communities are losing economically as they work to face the many challenges of the opioid epidemic,” said Sen.