DRUG addicts are costing the country up to £19 billion a year, according to a York-based research team.

The Home Office commissioned a team at the University of York, led by Professor Christine Godfrey from the Department of Health Sciences, to look into the economic and social impact of drug abuse.

The study suggests that a hard core of problem drug users are running up a bill of £600 a week each in crime, police and court time, health care and unemployment benefits.

The research also suggests that the annual economic costs are between £3.7 billion and £6.8 billion.

Most of these fall on the criminal justice system because of the high crime levels linked to drugs and includes, insurance payouts, repairs to damaged property, time lost at work and victim counselling and reflect the cost of serious and organised crime, burglaries and robberies, violence and the hidden social costs in schools and at home.

Professor Godfrey said the study had just been completed and was due to be published by the Home Office before Easter.

She said: "The drugs issue does cost a huge amount of money and a lot of that is in terms of crime and the social impact of drugs.

"Obviously drugs is very linked to crime and we started looking at the cost of drugs issues and particularly how policy might reduce that cost.

"We also did a simulation of the potential effects of the arrest referral scheme and how that might save some resources. The figures were based on the best data available, but because it's illicit drugs we have to make a lot of assumptions."

Last year, the NHS spent about £235 million on GP services, accident and emergency admissions and treatment linked to drug abuse.

When social costs are added, the bill rises to between £10.9 billion and £18.8 billion, which is higher than earlier estimates.

The researchers say the minimum number of problem drug users is 280,000 and they are responsible for 99 per cent of costs.

Updated: 11:48 Tuesday, February 19, 2002