SAMHSA Releases Decade-Long Prescription Drug Study

The proportion of all substance abuse treatment admissions of those age 12 and older involving abuse of prescription pain relievers rose by more than 400 percent from 2.2 percent in 1998 to 9.8 percent in 2008, according to a new study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

For example, among men the proportion of treatment admissions involving the misuse of prescription pain relievers rose from 1.8 percent in 1998 to 8.1 percent in 2008, while among women the proportion of admissions due to misuse increased from 3.5 percent in 1998 to 13.3 percent in 2008. Similarly, among those with an eighth grade education or less, the proportion of admissions involving misuses of prescription pain relievers jumped from 1.9 percent to 9.7 percent; while among those with more than a high school education, the proportion climbed from 3.8 percent to 12.1 percent during the same time period.

This dramatic rise in the proportion of admissions associated with the abuse of these drugs occurred among nearly all segments of the population regardless of age, gender, educational level and employment status.

Other growing problems associated with the misuse of prescription pain relievers were recently highlighted in a SAMHSA study released last month which found that emergency visits to hospitals involving the non-medical use of prescription narcotic pain relievers more than doubled between 2004 and 2008.

“The non-medical use of prescription pain-relievers is now the second most prevalent form of illicit drug use in the nation, and its tragic consequences are seen in substance abuse treatment centers and hospital emergency departments throughout our nation” said SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde, J.D. “This public health threat demands that we follow the President’s National Drug Control Strategy’s call for an all out effort to raise awareness of this risk and the critical importance of properly using, storing, and disposing of these powerful drugs.”

The full report is available at samhsa.gov. It can also be obtained by calling the SAMHSA Health Information Network at 877-SAMHSA-7.