CASAColumbia is about...

…preventing and treating addiction.

Forty million Americans ages 12 and older have addiction involving nicotine, alcohol or other drugs, a disease affecting more Americans than heart conditions (27 million), diabetes (26 million), or cancer (19 million).

Another 80 million people are risky substance users – using tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs in ways that threaten health and safety.

Addiction is a complex disease that involves changes in the structure and function of the brain and is America’s number one public health problem.

Our failure to address addiction as a medical illness results in unnecessary social and economic costs such as spiraling health care expenditures, poor school performance, and exploding prison populations.

In 2010, we spent $28 billion to treat people with addiction. In that same year, we spent $44 billion on diabetes treatment; $87 billion on cancer treatment; and $107 billion to treat heart disease.

Risky substance use and addiction touches virtually every family and circle of friends in America and are implicated in most of our nation’s tenacious social ills, including violent crimes, homelessness, teen pregnancy, family breakups and child abuse and/or neglect.

CASAColumbia is dedicated to changing the way Americans think about addiction.
Whether it’s helping communities protect their children, impacting public policy, or designing and testing effective approaches for people who need treatment, CASAColumbia gives people the tools they need to prevent and treat this disease.