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From the Director
Most people who take prescription medications take them responsibly; however, the nonmedical use or abuse of prescription drugs remains a serious public health concern. Certain prescription drugs - opioids, central nervous system (CNS) depressants, and stimulants - when abused, can alter the brain's activity and lead to dependence and possibly addiction.
An estimated 9 million people aged 12 and older used prescription drugs for nonmedical reasons in 1999; more than a quarter of that number reported using prescription drugs nonmedically for the first time in the previous year. We would like to reverse this trend by increasing awareness and promoting additional research on this topic.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has developed this publication to answer questions about the consequences of abusing commonly prescribed medications. In addition to offering information on what research has taught us about how certain medications affect the brain and body, this publication also discusses treatment options.
This publication was developed to help health care providers discuss the consequences of prescription drug abuse with their patients. According to a recent national survey of primary care physicians and patients regarding substance abuse, 46.6 percent of physicians find it difficult to discuss prescription drug abuse with their patients.
Prescription drug abuse is not a new problem, but one that deserves renewed attention. We hope this scientific report is useful to the public, particularly to individuals working with the elderly, who because of the number of medications they may take for various medical conditions, may be more vulnerable to misuse or abuse of prescribed medications.
Alan I. Leshner, Ph.D.
Director
National Institute on Drug Abuse
If you have the Acrobat reader plug-in for Netscape or Internet Explorer click on the document link and you will be able
to view and/or print out the pages. If you have trouble viewing the document in your browser window, download the document (Windows users - right click on the link and Save as...) to your computer and get Adobe Acrobat Reader (free) in order to view it.
This report is also available in PDF format, Prescription Drugs: Abuse and Addiction, [PDF format, 227 KB]
This report is also available in Spanish, Medicamentos de Prescripción: Abuso y Adicción
All materials appearing in the Research Reports Series are in the public domain and may be reproduced without permission from NIDA. Citation of the source is appreciated.
To obtain printed copies of this report, please call or write the National Clearinghouse on Alcohol and Drug Information, P.O. Box 2345, Rockville, MD 20852, 1-800-729-6686. NIDA Research Report - Prescription Drugs: Abuse and Addiction: NIH Publication No. 01-4881. 599801since 4/9/01
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