What are the facts about misuse, abuse, and diversion of pain medications?
Abuse is uncommon. Abuse of prescription pain medication is uncommon among the general patient population. Most patients who are prescribed opioids for pain do not abuse these medications or become addicted. While the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reports that more research is needed on the factors that predispose patients to addiction, they clearly endorse the fact that the risk of addiction is minimal in most cases, especially when patients are treated on a short term basis. 3 Risk of abuse is individual. The most reliable known risk factor for predicting abuse or addiction to pain medication is a history of addiction. This neurobehavioral syndrome has genetic and environmental factors and is manifested by compulsive use of a substance despite harm. Addiction should not be confused with the phenomenon of physical dependence, an expected consequence of legitimate long term use of pain medication. Physical dependence defined as the presence of tolerance and withdrawal can be
