Increasing wine and beer taxes, increasing application fees for medical marijuana cards and funneling revenue from liquor sales could be the solutions to Oregon’s inadequate drug and alcohol treatment funding, according to a report from the Governor’s Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse.

The council presented a 2006 report in Bend on Tuesday to department heads from Deschutes County social service agencies, addiction treatment providers and members of the public. The report linked addiction to myriad social ills.

The report recommends the state Legislature double funding for prevention programs during the 2007-09 biennium, which would mean an increase in funding of $4.5 million, said Ann Uhler, who served as chairwoman of the council.

In addition, the state must bring back the $45 million in treatment dollars eliminated from the budget in the last four years, Uhler said.

The council proposed three funding sources for prevention and treatment programs statewide. Legislators would have to approve the changes in funding sources.

An increase in the beer and wine tax by 10 cents per bottle, along with 10 percent of revenues from distilled liquor sales, would provide a steady stream of income, Uhler said. Any future increases in those amounts would be determined based on the cost of living, under the council’s proposal.

The council also recommended increasing the application fee for an Oregon medical marijuana card from $100 to $150.

Under Oregon law, authorized patients can grow and use marijuana with a doctor’s permission.

If the increase in the application fee is approved, Uhler said, any revenue exceeding the medical marijuana program’s expenses would be used for prevention, treatment and recovery services.

But pushing for an increase in funding for prevention programs and substance abuse treatment can be a tough sell to the public, Uhler said.

”People still see drugs as a moral issue and a choice that people can make to just stop using but don’t understand the nature of dependency and the progressiveness of this illness,” Uhler said.

In its report, the council noted a ”global lack of understanding about the nature of chemical dependency as a progressive, chronic relapsing disease.”

The report also showed that for every $1 spent on prevention and treatment, $5 to $7 dollars are saved on health care and social costs related to addiction.

As things stand, a portion of the tax on beer and wine sales in Oregon is used to help fund drug and alcohol treatment and prevention. But revenue from liquor sales and medical marijuana card fees now do not go toward those services.