Prescription drug addiction

Prescription drug addiction
Adderall is a commonly abused stimulant drug containing amphetamine.[1]
SpecialtyPsychiatry, clinical psychology
ComplicationsDrug overdose
FrequencyEstimated over 3.43 million prescription opioid users and 3.42 million prescription stimulant users worldwide.[2]

Prescription drug addiction is the chronic, repeated use of a prescription drug in ways other than prescribed for, including using someone else’s prescription.[3][4] A prescription drug is a pharmaceutical drug that may not be dispensed without a legal medical prescription. Drugs in this category are supervised due to their potential for misuse and substance use disorder. The classes of medications most commonly abused are opioids, central nervous system (CNS) depressants and central nervous stimulants.[3]: 5  In particular, prescription opioid is most commonly abused in the form of prescription analgesics.[5][6]

Prescription drug addiction was recognized as a significant public health and law enforcement problem worldwide in the past decade due to its medical and social consequences.[7] Particularly, the United States declared a public health emergency regarding increased drug overdoses in 2017.[8] Since then, multiple public health organizations have emphasized the importance of prevention, early diagnosis and treatments of prescription drug addiction to address this public health issue.[9]

  1. ^ Schachter R (February 2012). "A New Prescription for Fighting Drug Abuse". District Administration. 48 (2): 41. ISSN 1537-5749. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  2. ^ "Booklet 2: Global overview of drug demand and supply" (PDF). World Drug Report 2018. Vienna, Austria: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. 2018. ISBN 978-92-1-148304-8.
  3. ^ a b The non-medical use of prescription drugs - Policy Direction Issues (Discussion Paper) (PDF) (Report). United Nations Office On Drugs And Crime. September 2011. p. 1. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  4. ^ "The Science of Drug Use and Addiction: The Basics". National Institute on Drug Abuse. 25 June 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  5. ^ "Curbing prescription opioid dependency". Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 95 (5): 318–319. May 2017. doi:10.2471/BLT.17.020517. PMC 5418819. PMID 28479631.
  6. ^ Holmes D (January 2012). "Prescription drug addiction: the treatment challenge". Lancet. 379 (9810): 17–8. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60007-5. PMID 22232799. S2CID 12678152.
  7. ^ Executive summary. World Drug Report 2018 (Report). United Nations. June 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  8. ^ "What is the U.S. Opioid Epidemic?". U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 4 December 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  9. ^ 2019 National Drug Threat Assessment (NDTA) (PDF) (Report). US Drug Enforcement Administration. December 2019.