Why the recent increase in use of pain medications for nonmedical purposes?
Since 1995, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of prescriptions written for pain medications. Historically, pain was not being adequately treated, so part of the increase in the use of this class of medications is justified. However, with the increase in prescribing, there has been a corresponding increase in associated problems, including addiction. Dramatic increases in emergency room admissions due to opioid overdoses, addiction treatment center admissions for opioid dependence, and deaths caused by overdose on these medications have occurred since the mid ‘90s. In some states, prescribed methadone used for treatment of pain (not for opioid addiction) has become the most lethal drug, exceeding heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine. Most people using these drugs regularly for nonmedical purposes are getting them via “doctor shopping”–going to multiple doctors for prescriptions. According to the Monitoring the Future study, among persons 12 or older who used pain reliever
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- Why the recent increase in use of pain medications for nonmedical purposes?
