Between 1993 and 2005, white emergency room patients with pain were more likely to receive an opioid (31 percent) than black (23 percent) or Hispanic (24 percent) patients; the differential is more pronounced with increasing pain severity.1
"Discussions about opioids and pain management have to move beyond the world of pain medicine to bring together experts from a wide variety of fields (e.g., family medicine and other medical specialties, nursing, pharmacy, physician assistants). The field needs to enlist champions within the pharmaceutical, managed care, legislative, regulatory and law enforcement arenas."2
Untreated or undertreated pain is a growing health problem and a leading cause of disability.3
76.5 million Americans report that they have had a problem with pain that persisted for more than 24 hours in the past month.4
"Pain leaders recognize the need to engage and collaborate with other stakeholders - health professionals, consumers, the pharmaceutical industry, law enforcement and regulatory agencies, and health policymakers - to arrive at a unified agenda..."5
Through urine drug testing, one national study found that 75 percent of pain patients may not be taking their medications as prescribed. And 29 percent of those tested had non-prescribed opioid medications present. 6
Abuse Statistics
2.6 million Americans used prescription drugs for non-medical reasons for the first time in 2009— about 7000 Americans a day. 10
From 2002 to 2007 the number of young adults aged 18 to 25 who have used prescription pain relievers for non medical uses in the past month increased from 4.1 to 4.6 percent. 11
"Patients must be armed with the information about how to safely use medications, store medications to avoid unauthorized use by others, understand expectations for therapeutic adherence and communicate with providers."12
Between 1992 and 2002, reported prescription drug abuse by teenagers increased by 542 percent.15
Drug treatment admissions for prescription pain relievers increased more than 300 percent from 1995 to 2005.16
Teens are abusing prescription drugs because many believe the myth that these drugs provide a "safe" high.13
The majority of teens who abuse prescription drugs say they are easy to get and are often free.13
55.3 percent of Americans who used pain-relievers for non-medical reasons in the past 12 months got them for free from friends or family members.20
Only about half of all pharmacists receive any training about identifying prescription drug misuse, abuse and diversion.21
Physicians estimate that about one in six prescription products that contain oxycodone and hydrocodone will be abused.22
About 94 percent of physicians surveyed experienced at least one suspicious incident involving opioid abuse in the past month, while nearly 64 percent experienced four or more different incidents involving opioid abuse in the past month.18
In 2009, about one in five teens in grades nine through 12, or 3.2 million, reported abusing a prescription medication at least once in their lives.23
In 2009, about one in seven teens, or 2.4 million, reported that they abused a prescription pain reliever in the past year.19
The ease of acquiring prescription medications can be a risk factor in adolescent drug abuse.2
About 56 percent of teens in grades nine through 12 believe prescription medications are easier to get than illegal drugs.19
About 63 percent of teenagers believe prescription drugs are easy to get from their parents' medicine cabinet.19
About 20 percent of parents say their child (ages 10 - 19) has already used drugs or alcohol beyond an 'experimental' level.19
Seven of the top 10 drugs used by 12th graders were prescription drugs. 24
More than 40 percent of high school seniors reported that pain relievers are 'fairly' or 'very' easy to get. 20
High school seniors report that they believed that if they were to get caught, there was less shame attached to the use of prescription drugs than to street drugs. 20
Drug overdoses rank second only to motor vehicle crashes as the leading cause of accidental death in the nation.20
Hospitalizations for poisoning by prescription opioids, sedatives and tranquilizers jumped 65 percent from 1999 to 2006.20
One-third of new addicts report that their first drug experience was with prescription drugs.20
Up to 17 percent of prescribed medication goes unused, and if improperly disposed, may contribute to drug diversion. 25
In 2008, 2.9 percent of American adolescents aged 12 to 17 and 5.9 percent aged 18 to 25 had used prescription medications for nonmedical purposes in the last month. 26
In 2008, 2.5 million Americans abused a prescription medication for the first time. 22
In 2006, 15.2 million Americans ages 12 and older had taken a prescription pain reliever, tranquilizer, stimulant, or sedative for nonmedical purposes at least once in the year prior to being surveyed. 27
Nearly one in 10 high school seniors admit to abusing powerful prescription medication. 28
Opioid abuse now causes more drug overdose deaths than cocaine and heroin combined. 24
In 2009, nearly one in 10 high school seniors reported nonmedical use of Vicodin®; one in 20 reported abuse of OxyContin. 29
When asked how prescription narcotics were obtained for nonmedical use, about 52 percent of 12th-graders said they were given the drugs or bought them from a friend or relative. Additionally, 30 percent reported receiving a prescription for them, and a negligible number of 12th-graders reported purchasing the narcotics over the Internet. 26
From 2004 through 2008 drug-related visits to the Emergency Department (ED) increased by over 70 percent, reflecting a jump in the number of ED visits involving adverse drug reactions, accidental drug ingestions, and misuse or abuse of prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications. 30
Academic Doping Statistics
One out of 10 American teenagers has used prescription drugs without a doctor's prescription to improve his or her academic performance.31
Between 1993 and 2005, there has been a 342.9 percent increase in the proportion of students abusing prescription pain relievers like Percocet, Vicodin and OxyContin.32
Between 1993 and 2005, there was a 93.3 percent increase in those abusing prescription stimulants like Ritalin and Adderall.
Between 1993 and 2005, there was a 450 percent increase in those abusing prescription tranquilizers like Xanax and Valium.33
Full-time college students aged 18 to 22 were twice as likely as their counterparts who were not full-time college students to have used Adderall nonmedically in the past year (6.4 vs. 3.0 percent).34
"Full-time college students who were nonmedical users of Adderall® were almost 3 times as likely as those who had not used Adderall nonmedically to have used marijuana in the past year (79.9 vs. 27.2 percent).”35
“Full-time college students who were nonmedical users of Adderall® were 8 times more likely to have used cocaine in that period (28.9 vs. 3.6 percent), 8 times more likely to have been nonmedical users of prescription tranquilizers (24.5 vs. 3.0 percent), and 5 times more likely to have been nonmedical users of prescription pain relievers (44.9 vs. 8.7 percent)”36
“Nearly 90.0 percent of full-time college students who used Adderall® nonmedically in the past year were past month binge alcohol users, and more than half were heavy alcohol users.”37
References
1 Pletcher, M. J., Kertesz, S. G., Kohn, M. A., & Gonzales, R. (2008). Trends in Opioid Prescribing by Race/Ethnicity for Patients Seeking Care in US Emergency Departments. The Journal of the American Medical Association , 299 (1), 70-78.
2 American Pain Foundation. (2008). Provider Prescribing Patterns and Perceptions: Identifying Solutions to Build Consensus on Opioid Use in Pain Management—A Roundtable Discussion [Brochure]. Baltimore, MD. p. 6.
3 American Pain Foundation. (2008). Provider Prescribing Patterns and Perceptions: Identifying Solutions to Build Consensus on Opioid Use in Pain Management—A Roundtable Discussion [Brochure]. Baltimore, MD. p. 2.
4 American Pain Foundation. (2008). Provider Prescribing Patterns and Perceptions: Identifying Solutions to Build Consensus on Opioid Use in Pain Management—A Roundtable Discussion [Brochure]. Baltimore, MD. p. 2.
5 American Pain Foundation. (2008). Provider Prescribing Patterns and Perceptions: Identifying Solutions to Build Consensus on Opioid Use in Pain Management—A Roundtable Discussion [Brochure]. Baltimore, MD. p. 3.
6 Couto, J.E., N.I. Goldfarb, H.L. Leider, M.C. Romney, S. Sharma. “High rates of inappropriate drug use in the chronic pain population.” Popular Health Management 12, no. 4 (2009): 185 - 190.
7 Burke, Cdr. J. (2006). Addressing the Problems in the Future. Office of National Drug Control Policy. p. 1.
8 “A Day in the Life of American Adolescents: Substance Use Facts Update”. SAMHSA Office of Applied Studies, (April 29, 2010 and March 9, 2011) http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/2k10/185/185TypicalDay.htm.
9 “A Day in the Life of American Adolescents: Substance Use Facts Update”. SAMHSA Office of Applied Studies, (April 29, 2010 and March 9, 2011) http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/2k10/185/185TypicalDay.htm.
10 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Volume I. Summary of National Findings.” SAMHSA Office of Applied Studies, (2009) http://oas.samhsa.gov/NSDUH/2k9NSDUH/2k9Results.htm
11 “NSDUH Report— Trends in Nonmedical Use of Prescription Pain Relievers: 2002 to 2007.” SAMHSA Office of Applied Studies. (2009) http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k9/painRelievers/nonmedicalTrends.htm
12 American Pain Foundation. (2008). Provider Prescribing Patterns and Perceptions: Identifying Solutions to Build Consensus on Opioid Use in Pain Management—A Roundtable Discussion [Brochure]. Baltimore, MD. p. 7.
13 (U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2003)
15 Bollinger LC, Bush C, Califano JA, et al. Under the counter: the diversion and abuse of controlled prescription drugs in the US. The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA), July 2005.
16 White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. (2008). National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign (1). Washington D.C.: ONDCP.
17 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2007). Results from the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings (Office of Applied Studies, NSDUH Series H-32, DHHS Publication No. SMA 07-4293). Rockville, MD.
18 Manchikanti L. Prescription drug abuse; what is being done to address the new drug epidemic? Testimony before the subcommittee on criminal justice, drug policy and human resources. Pain Physician. 2006; 9:287-321.
19 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2007). Results from the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings (Office of Applied Studies, NSDUH Series H-32, DHHS Publication No. SMA 07-4293). Rockville, MD.
20 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Volume I. Summary of National Findings.” SAMHSA Office of Applied Studies, (2009) http://oas.samhsa.gov/NSDUH/2k9NSDUH/2k9Results.htm
21 Manchikanti L. Prescription drug abuse; what is being done to address the new drug epidemic? Testimony before the subcommittee on criminal justice, drug policy and human resources. Pain Physician. 2006; 9:287-321.
23 “Key Findings of the 2009 Partnership / MetLife Foundation Attitude Tracking Study (PATS).” http://www.drugfreenc.org/PDF/PATS_Key_Findings_2009.pdf.
24 Rosen-Cohen, Nancy. “The quiet epidemic: Prescription drug abuse destroys millions of lives.” The Baltimore Sun. April 4, 2010. http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2010-04-21/news/bs-ed-prescription-drug-abuse-20100421_1_prescription-drugs-opiates-addictive.
25 “Klobuchar seeks safer drug disposal options.” Echo Press. May 24, 2010. http://www.echopress.com/event/article/id/75120/.
26 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. “Results from the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings.” Office of Applied Studies NSDUH Series H-36, HHS Publication No. SMNA 09-4434 (2009). . http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/nsduh/2k8nsduh/2k8Results.cfm. (accessed June 8, 2010).
27 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. “Results from the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National findings.” Office of Applied Studies. http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/NSDUH/2k7NSDUH/2k7results.cfm. (accessed March 15, 2010).
28 “Fact Sheet: Prescription Drug Abuse”. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. http://www.justice.gov/dea/concern/prescription_drug_fact_sheet.html 2007.
29 “NIDA InfoFacts: High School and Youth Trends.” National Institute on Drug Abuse. http://www.drugabuse.gov/infofacts/hsyouthtrends.html.
30 “Drug Abuse Warning Network, 2008: National Estimates of Drug-Related Emergency Department Visits.” SAMHSA Center for Behavioral Statistics and Quality. (2008) http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/DAWN/2K8/ED/DAWN2k8ED.htm
31 International Narcotics Control Board. "Report of the International Narcotics Control Board for 2005." International Narcotics Control Board. 1 March 2006. 30 June 2008.
32 The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, (2005). Retrieved June 30, 2008, from "Wasting the Best and Brightest" Web site: http://www.casacolumbia.org/absolutenm/articlefiles/380Wasting%20the%20Best%20 and%20the%20Brightest.pdf
22b The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, (2005). Retrieved June 30, 2008, from "Wasting the Best and Brightest" Web site:http://www.casacolumbia.org/absolutenm/articlefiles/380Wasting%20the%20Best%20 and%20the%20Brightest.pdf
33 The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, (2005). Retrieved June 30, 2008, from "Wasting the Best and Brightest" Web site:http://www.casacolumbia.org/absolutenm/articlefiles/380Wasting%20the%20Best%20 and%20the%20Brightest.pdf
34 “NSDUH Report— Nonmedical Use of Adderall among Full-Time College Students.” SAMHSA Office of Applied Studies. (2009) http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k9/adderall/adderall.htm
35 “NSDUH Report— Nonmedical Use of Adderall among Full-Time College Students.” SAMHSA Office of Applied Studies. (2009) http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k9/adderall/adderall.htm
36 “NSDUH Report— Nonmedical Use of Adderall among Full-Time College Students.” SAMHSA Office of Applied Studies. (2009) http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k9/adderall/adderall.htm
37 “NSDUH Report— Nonmedical Use of Adderall among Full-Time College Students.” SAMHSA Office of Applied Studies. (2009) http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k9/adderall/adderall.htm
