Prescription Drug Abuse Increasing Among US Troops

USA Today reported that about one in four soldiers admit abusing prescription drugs, most of them pain relievers, in a one-year period. That's according to a Pentagon health survey released Wednesday. The study, which surveyed more than 28,500 U.S. troops last year, showed that about 20 percent of Marines had also abused prescription drugs, mostly painkillers, in that same period.

The survey showed that pain relievers were the most abused drug in the military, used illicitly at a rate triple that of marijuana or amphetamines, the next most widely abused drugs. About 15 percent of soldiers said they had abused prescription drugs in the 30 days before they were questioned for the survey. About 10 percent of Marines said the same thing.

"We are aware that more prescription drugs are being used today for pain management and behavioral health issues," Brig. Gen. Colleen McGuire, director of the Army Suicide Prevention Task Force, said Wednesday. "These areas of substance abuse along with increased use of alcohol concern us."

Painkiller abuse among troops has soared since 2005, the last time a similar study was conducted. The 2005 survey showed that 4 percent of soldiers had abused painkillers in the previous 30 days, compared with 13 percent in 2008. Abuse within the previous year was 10 percent in 2005 compared with 22 percent in 2008. The authors of the report said different questions were used in 2008 compared with previous years. That makes an exact comparison difficult.

Other survey findings include:
•The percentage of troops showing signs of post-traumatic stress disorder increased during the war years. The largest increases were within the Army and Marine Corps, the two service branches doing most of the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
•Nearly 60 percent of Marines admit engaging in binge drinking. The rate of heavy alcohol use among all service members ages 18 to 35 remained higher than in the civilian population.
•Servicemembers admitting that they had thoughts of suicide during the year prior to being surveyed doubled from 1 percent in 2005 to 2 percent in 2008.

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