ABSTRACT
For an analysis of the Nordic welfare state, the treatment of alcohol and drug misusers can be considered both marginal and central. From an economic point of view we are talking about a very small segment of the present welfare system. But the treatment system of alcohol and drug misusers, precisely because it operates in the margins, is a particularly sensitive indicator of normative changes in society: how much and what efforts are dedicated to this group of least resourceful citizens?
