THE UK is the "addiction capital of Europe", with some of its highest rates of opiate addiction and alcohol dependence, a report warns.
Alcohol and drug abuse cost the UK £21 billion and £15 billion respectively, and increasing addiction is fuelling a breakdown of society, says think-tank The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ).
It says the UK has become a hub for websites peddling "legal highs" or "club drugs" such as Salvia or Green Rolex, which are ordered online and distributed around the country by postmen and couriers who unwittingly become drugs mules.
Christian Guy, director of the CSJ, said: "While our addiction problem damages the economy, it is the human consequences that present the real tragedy. Drug and alcohol abuse fuels poverty and deprivation, leading to family breakdown and child neglect, homelessness, crime, debt and long-term worklessness."
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