Prevalence of Misuse
Prescription drug misuse is increasing and is becoming more prevalent, particularly among high school and college students. It now makes up a larger part of the nation’s overall drug problem than was true 10 years ago, in part because use has increased for many such drugs over that period, and in part because use of a number of street drugs has declined substantially since the mid-1990s. It seems likely that young people are less concerned about the dangers of using these drugs outside of medical regimen, likely because they are widely used for legitimate purposes. In addition, prescription psychotherapeutic drugs are now being advertised directly to the consumer, which implies both that they are in widespread use and that they can be used with low risk.
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The following 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)6 statistics provide evidence that the nonmedical use of prescription medications is a growing concern in the United States:
- 6.9 million (2.8%) persons aged 12 or older used prescription-type psychotherapeutic drugs non-medically in the past month. Of these, 5.2 million used pain relievers, the same as the number in 2006.
- There were 2.5 million persons aged 12 or older who used psychotherapeutics nonmedically for the first time within the past year, which averages out to around 7,000 initiates per day. The numbers of new users of specific classes of psychotherapeutics in 2007 were 2.1 million for pain relievers, 1.2 million for tranquilizers, 642,000 for stimulants, and 198,000 for sedatives.
- The nonmedical use of prescription psychotherapeutic drugs – and of pain relievers in particular – is now second only to marijuana use among the Nation’s most prevalent drugs of choice.
- The problem of PDM impacts all segments of our society, however a disproportionate amount of the reported use occurs in the white population.
- In California, approximately 214,000 youth; 507,000 young adults; and 870,000 adults – all together, nearly 1.6 million Californians – misused prescription drugs during 2006‐2007. This is consistent with the national pattern of age‐related PDM. As with the national data, pain relievers are the most commonly misused prescription drug in California.
More information regarding prescription drug misuse in individual states, including California, can be found at SAMHSA’s 2007 State Estimates of Substance Use & Mental Health.
Go to the 2008 Monitoring the Future Survey (MTF) for a complete copy of key findings.
Go to the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) for a complete copy of key findings.